ALEX CROSS (PG-13) I’ve never read one of James Patterson’s bestsellers featuring police detective/forensic psychologist Alex Cross, but I did see Kiss the Girls, which I recall enjoying. Alex Cross is no Kiss the Girls. In Detective Dr. Cross’ third cinematic case, Tyler Perry takes over for the much more capable Morgan Freeman, who portrayed Cross in Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Perry’s Cross must hunt down Picasso (a muscular skeleton that once was Jack from “Lost”), a professional assassin-cum-serial killer whose first murder is a mass one. When Picasso makes his mission personal, Cross goes off the reservation, which, judging by Perry’s emotional acting playbook, is little different from being on the reservation. A strong supporting cast—Edward Burns, Rachel Nichols, John C. McGinley, Jean Reno, Cicely Tyson and Giancarlo Esposito—prove no match for Perry’s lack of screen presence, Rob Cohen’s mindless action direction and the laughable script by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson. This movie would have been more entertaining had Perry also donned his fat suits and pursued Picasso as Cross, Madea and her brother, Joe; Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Alex Cross is a bad movie idea I could get behind.

ARGO (R) Ben Affleck’s career revival continues with what might be his best directing effort yet; as life-or-death as the tension gets, the movie is ultimately a less grueling entertainment experience than either The Town or Gone Baby Gone. Revealing the once classified story of how the CIA rescued six American hostages in the midst of the Iranian Revolution, Argo is both an intriguing modern history lesson and a compelling, old-fashioned Hollywood thriller. The first-act scenes of the revolution terrify with present day relevance; the middle sequence that sets up the outlandish rescue op humorously skewers late-'70s Hollywood, thanks to excellent work by John Goodman as real life, Oscar-winning makeup artist John Chambers, as well as Alan Arkin; and the climactic escape epitomizes edge-of-your-seat suspense. Affleck has collected one hell of a cast—Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler, Victor Garber, Scoot McNairy, Chris Messina and many more recognizable faces—but the movie isn’t dominated by any one showy actor, and certainly not its tightly controlled director-star. Its greatness is certainly a sum of all parts—directing, writing (by first-time scripter Chris Terrio) and acting. The Academy will certainly recognize Argo, the year’s best, most accessible release to date, in its expanded best picture race.

BEERTICKERS (NR) The undisputed Beerticker of Britain (and most likely, the world), Brian Moore has spent the last three decades drinking and recording over 38,000 different beers. The documentary Beertickers: Beyond the Ale follows Brian, Dave Unpronounceable, Mick the Tick and Gazza Prescott on a journey through British drinking culture. Classic City Brewfest founder Owen Ogletree and Terrapin brewer Spike Buckowski will introduce the film and discuss the UK brewery featured in the film, with whom Terrapin will be collaborating on a highly-anticipated winter ale. Come early for a pint from Griffin, Georgia’s English-style brewpub, Eagle & Lion.

CHASING MAVERICKS (PG) A young surfer, Jay Moriarty (Johnny Weston), enlists a local legend named Frosty (Gerard Butler, who is often more appealing than the projects in which he chooses to star) to train him to tackle one of the biggest waves on the planet, a mythic Maverick. One expects more from the sports drama that results from a teaming of two of Hollywood’s more interesting filmmakers, Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted, than Chasing Mavericks delivers. The surfing cinematography glides and roils as expected; the drama regurgitated by Kario Salem’s script is so by-the-numbers it can be predicted from scenes in advance. The clichés that Salem offers as characters don’t give Butler, Weston, Elisabeth Shue or the cast of mostly unknowns much with which to work. Landlocked, wannabe surfers might enjoy the movie; most anyone else can expect one long day at the beach.

CHICAGO (PG-13) 2002. The Academy-award winning musical stars Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones as murderous vaudeville performers in corrupt, 20s era Chicago. (UGA Tate Theater)

CLOUD ATLAS (R) It’s become widely accepted that the Wachowskis have disappointed with every release since 1999’s The Matrix. For the ambitious Cloud Atlas, the siblings have excitedly teamed up with Tom Tykwer, whose only great film was 1998’s stunning Run Lola Run, so while expectations for the trio’s three hour epic run high, they should rightly be tempered. The trio has masterfully adapted David Mitchell’s award winning novel, intermingling six disparate stories, spanning 1849 to 106 Winters After the Fall. Each anecdote stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant and more in varying layers of makeup. While none of the stories warrants their own full-length feature, the six interconnected narratives are interwoven so skillfully and at such a swift pace that no one has enough time to overstay its welcome. If you don’t care for Sturgess’ sea tale, Berry’s nuclear mystery will be along shortly to take its place. The pidgin English future tale not your bag? Enjoy Broadbent’s broad English comedy. The lush, imaginative film’s most serious flaw is its repertory, several of whom (Oscar winners Hanks and Berry, most notably) seem out-of-place in the film’s fantastical future bookend.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (PG-13) 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), until a new evil, the muscle-and-respirator-clad Bane (Tom Hardy, finally doing the great Bat-breaker justice), requires 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 piece 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 book-ends a great the all-time greatest superhero trilogy.

• FLIGHT(R) Robert Zemeckis returns to live action movies for adults (since 2000's Cast Away) with this Denzel Washington-starring after-work special about alcoholism dressed up as an airplane crash drama. Captain Whip Whitaker (Washington) may be a great pilot, but he's not such a great guy. Yet while hungover, still drunk and high on coke, Whitaker saves most of the 102 souls on flight 227 after a mechanical failure requires him to pull off an unconventional crash landing. Starring a big handful of swell actors—Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Melissa Leo join Washington—Flight calls to mind a '70s issue movie (something Sidney Lumet or Norman Jewison might have directed Al Pacino in) wrapped in a tense, quasi-legal drama. Every part is exceptional, though it is Washington's latest award-worthy turn (his first since 2007's American Gangster) who lifts the movie above the cloudy inspirational moralizing that probably would have occurred with another star (say Will Smith). The crash sequence alone deserves a spot on the shortlist for 2012's best scenes; don't be surprised if Denzel and Flight soar come award season. 

FUN SIZE (PG-13) This teen Halloween comedy is the cinematic equivalent of getting those orange and black wrapped peanut butter candies while trick or treating at some old lady’s house. Wren (Victoria Justice, “Zoey 101”) loses her Spider-Man-costumed little brother, Albert (Jackson Nicoll), on Halloween and enlists her shallow BFF, April (Jane Levy), and the nerdy kid who’s crushing on her, Roosevelt (Thomas Mann, Project X), in her quest to find lil’ bro. Director Josh Schwartz tapped the teenage zeitgeist twice on TV (“The O.C.” and “Gossip Girl”), but his small screen talents fail to translate to the big screen in his feature directing debut. Fun Size is not funny at any size, despite a script from “The Colbert Report” writer Max Werner. When Johnny Knoxville is excruciating and Chelsea Handler is a highlight, something is way off, comedically. 

HERE COMES THE BOOM (PG-13) Adam Sandler’s made plenty of pictures worse than this Kevin James vehicle about outlandish ways to save education. James’ Scott Voss is a high school biology teacher who turns to MMA to fund the extracurriculars at his struggling school. An appealing supporting cast includes Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler, Greg Germann and real life MMA fighter Bas Rutten (after an appearance in Paul Blart: Mall Cop and voice work in Zookeeper, he’s becoming a James regular) to assist the extremely likable James in an odd, family-friendly mash-up of educational messages and inspirational sports, where the sports are extremely vicious. It doesn’t NOT work, but more refined audiences will cringe at the movie’s genial attitude toward violence.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (PG) Unlike the superior ParaNorman, which was a genuinely, safely frightening family horror flick, Hotel Transylvania is an amusing, run-of-the-mill animated family movie where the main characters are harmless monsters. (The lesson that monsters aren’t dangerous is a terrible, hazardous message to teach children.) To protect monsters and his daughter, Mavis, from their dreaded enemies, humans, Dracula (genially voiced by Adam Sandler) sets up a hotel in the safe confines of Transylvania. On the eve of Mavis’ 118th birthday, a human named Jonathan (v. Andy Samberg) discovers Drac’s hideaway. Thank goodness director Genndy Tartakovsky (“Dexter’s Laboratory,” “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Samurai Jack”) brings his visual creativity to this rather rote tale of prejudice and cross-cultural romance. The sequences that work best are the ones that have fun with the conventions of Universal’s classic movie monsters. Samberg’s saddled with a rather boring character, but Selena Gomez’s Mavis has spunk. The adults—Kevin James as Frankenstein, Steve Buscemi as the Wolfman, David Spade as the Invisible Man and CeeLo Green as the Mummy—are even better as cartoon monsters than their usual human cartoons. Horror movie fans will prefer ParaNorman, but the kids will love checking into Hotel Transylvania.

LENNONYC (NR) Screening as part of the 2012 Spotlight on the Arts at UGA, this Peabody Award winning episode of PBS’ “American Masters” program examines John Lennon and his time in New York City. Yoko Ono collaborated on Michael Epstein’s doc, providing interviews, never before heard studio recordings, never before seen concert outtakes, home movies and more. Elton John also offers his perspective on Lennon’s New York years. David Barbe, Director of the Music Business Certificate Program in the Terry College of Business, will introduce the film. (Ciné)

LINCOLN (PG-13) Who better than Steven Spielberg to bring our 16th president to the big screen? As the Civil War rages, Daniel Day-Lewis’ Abraham Lincoln battles members of Congress and his own cabinet over his decision to emancipate the slaves. The cast is phenomenal. Emmy winner Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”) adapted the nonfiction bestseller, Team of Rivals, for Spielberg. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Todd Lincoln, Sally Field as Mary Todd, Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, Jared Harris as Ulysses S. Grant, David Strathairn as William Seward and many more.

MAGIC MIKE (R) Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s peek beneath the thong that barely covers the underworld of Florida’s male strippers is a thoroughly entertaining and humanistic slice of life flick; imagine a less polyester-clad Saturday Night Fever. Alabama native Channing Tatum stars as Magic Mike, a nice guy with a rocking bod and killer dance moves who longs to make custom furniture. After taking a new dancer, Adam (Alex Pettyfer), under his wing, Mike falls for his sister, Brooke (Cody Horn), who shows Mike what he looks like to the rank-and-file. Despite scripter Reid Carolin relying on the same cookie cutter plot that supported ancient Hollywood musicals, All About Eve and Showgirls, Magic Mike has some new moves thanks to Soderbergh’s electric direction and well-selected beefcake. Tatum’s haters are proven wrong by his extremely charismatic performance, but it’s Matthew McConaughey that delivers the unexpected award-worthy turn as aged stripper-turned-impresario, Dallas. (UGA Tate Theater)

• THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS (R) Wu-Tang Clan impresario RZA co-wrote (with Hostel's Eli Roth), directed and stars in this kung fu love song that also features Oscar winner Russell Crowe?! (Apparently, Crowe agreed to star in RZA's flick after working with the rapper-turned-filmmaker on The Next Three Days.) Ironically, RZA the actor is the biggest flaw in RZA the filmmaker's surprisingly effective directorial debut. A blacksmith (RZA) is joined by a British soldier (Crowe) and several mercenaries and assassins to save a village from some nasty invaders. This cool, quirky genre flick lacks any true crossover potential (folks just coming in for Russell Crowe will be pretty confused) but kung fu fans like RZA will be in the heaven of bloody, quick fists and bronze-bodied baddies. I wish RZA had gone whole hog and made the movie even grindhouse-ier (e.g., out of sync dubbing, gritty, dirty, worn effects, etc.) Still, to answer Crowe's Oscar-winning query, "Are you not entertained?" by the faux martial arts exploitation of my pal RZA's The Man with the Iron Fists; I definitely am.

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (R) Medical school student Rudy (Emayatzy Corinealdi) drops out of school to care for her incarcerated husband, Derek (Omari Hardwick, Sparkle), after he is sentenced to eight years in prison. In her feature writing-directing debut, Ava DuVernay won the Sundance Film Festival’s Dramatic Directing Award and was nominated for the festival’s ultimate prize, the Grand Jury Prize. With David Oyelowo (the Red Tails star is about to blow up with upcoming roles in Lincoln and Jack Reacher).

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 (R) While the quality of Paranormal Activity 4 is little changed from its three predecessors (they are all above-average examples of how to shoot found footage flicks), the tense atmosphere, where the scares collectively imagined and anticipated by the audience are so much more terrifying than anything delivered by the film, is utterly absent. No imminent danger is established as the 15-year-old protagonist, whose name I cannot recall (Kathryn Newton, who resembles a young Jane Krakowski), and her equally unmemorable boy-who’s-just-a-friend tape every uninteresting moment of their tame not-quite-courtship. Some creative set-ups never pay off; the Kinect bits epitomize the movie’s wasted potential for terror. Even the anticipated return of the original’s statuesque Katie Featherston disappoints, as she’s barely around. The climactic sequence finally ramps up the scary but only for maybe five of the movie’s 88 minutes. PA4 also fails to develop the intriguing mythology introduced by its immediate predecessor. Boo on all counts. Skip this exceedingly weak entry in what, for three movies, had been a smart, effective horror franchise. If you ignore this advice, stick around through the credits for what looks like a teaser of the next installment.

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER PG-13. Stephen Chbosky directs the adaptation of his 1999 book of the same name about a high school freshman dealing with isolation, new friends and a disturbed past. The book is one of the best modern stories about less than golden high school experiences.

PITCH PERFECT (PG-13) Infectious is the best word to describe the a cappella college comedy Pitch Perfect. Barden University’s women's singing group, the Barden Bellas, need some fresh blood after a devastating loss in the national finals of collegiate, competitive a cappella. Freshman Beca (Anna Kendrick, delightful as ever even if her character is an overly pouty teen), Fat Amy (rising star Rebel Wilson) and several interchangeable coeds join seniors Aubrey (Anna Camp, “True Blood”) and Chloe (Brittany Snow, “American Dreams”) as they battle their way back to the top. In their way are Barden’s resident a cappella badboys, The Treblemakers, led by Bumper (Adam Devine of the devious “Workaholics”) and new guy/Beca’s love interest, Jesse (Skylar Astin). It’s understandable that many, many people, especially males, are going to see the “Glee”-ful previews or read the synopsis and instantly decide, “I’m out.” That rush to judgment will deprive them of a decidedly anti-“Glee” experience. The movie lacks any message stronger than a cappella is a lot of fun, and the comic ensemble, including John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks, lend a spiteful, humorous edge to what could have just been a bland radio friendly hit.

PSYCHO (NR) 1960. Ciné starts their Alfred Hitchcock 35mm revival series with one of Hitch’s most popular films. The auteur’s classic chiller is considered the proto-typical slasher film and set the standard for horror to come, be that good or bad. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) might seem like the mild-mannered, All-American boy, but Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) would tell you otherwise, had Bates’s murderous mother not infamously offed the criminal secretary in a first act shower. Don’t miss this Hitchcock classic on the big screen. (Ciné)

A ROYAL AFFAIR (R) A young queen, Caroline Mathilde (Alicia Vikander), falls for the royal physician, Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen, Casino Royale villian Le Chiffre and Hannibal Lecter in the upcoming TV series, “Hannibal”), who is caring for her insane royal hubby, King Christian VII of Denmark (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard). Director Nikolaj Arcel adapted The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for its original Swedish-language film. Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg won the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlin International Film Festival.

SAMSARA (NR) Director Ron Fricke and producer Mark Magidson are reunited some 20 years after their award winning collaboration on Baraka and some 27 years after their first film, Chronos. Samsara (Sanskrit for “the ever turning wheel of life”) took nearly five years to film and covers sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial sites and natural wonders in twenty-five countries on five continents. Talk about epic; it was also shot on 70-millimeter film. Winner of the Dublin Film Critics Award for Best Documentary. (Ciné)

THE SALT OF LIFE (NR) Writer-director-actor Gianni Di Gregorio follows up his 2010 sleeper hit and directorial debut, Mid-August Lunch, with 60-year-old Gianni finding retirement not so fulfilling. Tired of feeling invisible to everyone, especially his wife (Elisabetta Piccolomini), Gianni starts chasing younger ladies like his old codger pals. (Ciné)

SIDE BY SIDE (NR) Keanu Reeves produces this documentary about both the digital and photochemical filmmaking process. Christopher Kenneally’s second feature documentary (his first was Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating) boasts interviews with an impressive list of filmmaking luminaries including James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Robert Rodriguez, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, Danny Boyle, Richard Linklater, George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, the Wachowskis (Andy and Lana) and Lars von Trier. Any film geek should find this doc compelling, given the current digitalization of film. (Ciné)

SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D (R) Adapting videogames to the big screen is tricky. Christophe Gans and Roger Avary’s 2006 Silent Hill set the (admittedly low) bar for a great videogame adaptation. Rose Da Silva’s trek to save her daughter Sharon from the titular town’s evil cultists was creepy and atmospheric, yet utterly nonsensical. In writer-director Michael J. Bassett’s sequel, Sharon has grown up to be Heather Mason (Michelle Williams lookalike Adelaide Clemens), who must return to Silent Hill to find her dad, Chris-now-Harry (Sean Bean). Bassett overreaches, attempting to right the narrative wrongs of Gans/Avary, reward fans of Silent Hill 3 and open up the weird, confusing town of Silent Hill for the uninitiated, all in three, terrifying dimensions. The psychological scares that dominate the games are slight, though Bassett provides a couple of memorable monsters (the mannequin spider deserved more screen time). Bassett’s story makes more sense than his predecessor’s, thanks to dialogue that is 99 percent expository (and 100 percent awful); most of the acting stinks too. Indiscriminating horror fans may enjoy a second trip to Silent Hill, but the outing is probably best enjoyed by experienced gamers looking to take a shortened trek through Heather’s six (or so) hour gaming adventure.

SINISTER (R) Sinister, the new film from Scott Derrickson (I really liked his The Exorcism of Emily Rose and don’t hate his rather boring remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still), is my favorite theatrical horror experience since The Strangers. Ethan Hawke intensely stars as true crime novelist Ellison Oswalt, who has moved his family—pretty wife, tween son, young daughter—into the murder house for the latest crime he is investigating. What he discovers is much deadlier and more demony than he could have imagined. Sinister utilizes found footage—Ellison finds a box of home movies in the attic of his new home—more uniquely than any of the glut of the latest (fading?) horror fad. These little short snuff films and Ellison’s drunk, terrified reactions supply some of the movie’s scariest moments, and Derrickson shows a lot of ingenuity in how he subtly shows the grisly kills. Extra points for James Ransone (HBO’s “Generation Kill” and “Treme”) as the not-as-dumb-a-deputy-as-he-seems comic relief. Released amid a lot of buzz in the horror community, this terrific chiller delivers.

SKYFALL (PG-13) Bond is back, and I am very excited. Daniel Craig’s 007 returns just in time to save MI6 after M’s (Dame Judi Dench) past comes back to haunt her. Javier Bardem should make a proper villain for Bond to battle. American Beauty director Sam Mendes is the latest filmmaker to take the reins of the longest running franchise EVER. If you don’t know anything about this film, you haven’t been paying attention; Skyfall’s all over the Internet. With Ralph Fiennes.

SOMEBODIES (NR) 2006. UGA alumnus Hadjii’s feature writing, directing and starring debut gets its Athens premiere courtesy of the 2012 Spotlight on the Arts at UGA. A Georgia college student must deal with his religious family and his hard-partying college pals. This movie led to a short-lived, entertaining BET series. The screening will be introduced by Hadjii and costar Kaira Akita, both of whom will be present for a post-film Q&A. A catered reception will follow the screening. (Ciné)

STARLET (NR) Twenty-one-year-old Jane (Dree Hemingway) strikes up a strange friendship with elderly Sadie (Besedka Johnson), after finding a stash of money at Sadie’s yard sale. Director Sean Baker created the television show, “Greg the Bunny.” His Starlet was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival, and he won awards in Boulder, Cleveland, France, Florida, Switzerland, L.A., Nashville, Rhode Island, Italy and Woodstock for his previous features, Prince of Broadway and Take Out.

TAKEN 2 (PG-13) Most movies fail to encapsulate the description “unnecessary sequel” as perfectly as Taken 2. (I wish it had had some silly subtitle like Taken 2: Takenier, but alas.) As a consequence of the violent methods he employed to retrieve his kidnapped daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), in the first movie, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), must face off against the Albanian dad (played by go-to Eastern European baddie Rade Serbedzija) of one of the sex traffickers he killed during his rescue mission. Once Bryan get himself and Kim to safety, he must go after some more Albanians and save his estranged wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen). The scenery—Bryan must clean the Eurotrash from the bazaars of Istanbul as opposed to the streets of Paris—isn’t the only thing that’s changed. While writer-producer Luc Besson returns, he replaces Taken director Pierre Morel with Transporter 3’s Olivier Megaton. Unfortunately, that substitution brings with it action choreography/cinematography that is far less comprehensible. Add a far too slow opening act to the jumbled action and Taken 2 falls far below the bar set by its surprise success of a predecessor.

• WRECK-IT RALPH (PG) 2012 has been a good year for animation. Good luck deciding on the year's best animated feature from a strong list that includes Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman and now Wreck-It Ralph. In Disney's latest, Wreck-It Ralph (v. John C. Reilly), the bad guy from popular arcade game Fix-It Felix Jr., decides he wants to be a good guy. Leaving the safety of his own regenerating world, Ralph enters a Halo-ish first-person shooter named Hero's Duty in search of a medal. Too bad Ralph's better at wrecking things than fixing them. This cute, inventive cartoon boasts several creative game worlds like the cavity-friendly candyland of Sugar Rush and a treasure trove of easter eggs for lifelong and newer gamers. Director Rich Moore definitely learned a thing or two from his time working on the inside joke heavy worlds of Matt Groening, "The Simpsons" and "Futurama."  The voicework by Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling and more is top-notch, but one expects that level of competence from a high-profile animated feature. It's the plentiful heart and laughter Wreck-It Ralph offers viewers of all ages, gamer or not, that sets it apart.