21 AND OVER (R) One’s reaction to pejoratively describing 21 and Over as The Hangover Jr. should determine one’s level of interest in this flick. If a viewer disregarded The Hangover Part II for its lack of originality, then said viewer should stay away from 21 and Over. At least the second Hangover still had some jokes to tell. 21 and Over lacks any jokes, instead relying on an escalating series of scenarios scored to music one would hear while watching MTV’s current crop of programs. Two pals, played by the appealing duo of Miles Teller (Footloose) and Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect), take a third friend, Jeff Chang (Justin Chon), out to celebrate his 21st birthday. But Jeff Chang cannot celebrate too hard, as he has an important med school meeting the next morning. So what does Jeff Chang do? Gets wasted. The rest of the movie involves Miller and Casey meeting hot chicks and d-bags while trying to get Jeff Chang home before his evil father (Francois Chau of “Lost”) finds them. 21 and Over mixes a plot left over from the transitional Weekend at Bernie’s period, with the raunchy, we can do anything gags of today. The resulting concoction doesn't go down well.

56 UP (NR) 2012. Michael Apted, who has helmed entries in two huge franchises, Bond (The World Is Not Enough) and The Chronicles of Narnia (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), began documenting the lives of several seven-year-olds in 1964. Every seven years, he returned to update their stories. In this latest entry, these now 56-year-olds discuss their lives, families, work and the series itself. Not having seen any of these films remains one of the bigger failures of my cinematic life; perhaps I can finally correct it. (Ciné)

• ADMISSION (PG-13) Despite teaming Tina Fey, who unsurprisingly supplies this heartfelt comedy’s biggest laughs, with the preternaturally appealing Paul Rudd, Admission lacks the former’s sharply satirical bite and strands the latter with only his goofy cool comedy to clothe him. Portia Nathan (Fey), a Princeton admissions officer, learns the son she gave up for adoption, Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), is applying to her school from John Pressman (Rudd), a single, world-traveling dad. Portia then skirts the ethical boundaries of her position to help Jeremiah get into Princeton, while romantically dallying with John on the side. Acting-wise, Admission is well-armed, with Fey and Rudd being joined by Lily Tomlin, Michael Sheen, Wallace Shawn and newcomer Travaris Spears, who steals a couple of scenes as John’s adopted son, Nelson. Nothing about Admission is comically or narratively surprising, yet like most Paul Weitz movies (his best being American Pie, About a Boy and In Good Company), the overwhelming geniality makes this comically gifted underachiever hard to dislike. Admission should make your DVD Waitlist. 

THE ANATOMY OF HATE: A DIALOGUE TO HOPE (NR) Director Mike Ramsdell spent six years working with some of our most hateful ideological movements and violent conflicts: white supremacists, Christian fundamentalism’s anti-gay wing, Muslim extremists, the Palestinian Intifada, Israeli settlers/soldiers and U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq. His film reveals the reasons why we hate and how to overcome that negative emotion. The film will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Ramsdell. Winner of the Audience Choice Award at the Atlanta DocuFest and the Best Political Documentary at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. (UGA MLC Room 102)

BLANCANIEVES (PG-13) A stunning, silent, black-and-white version of Snow White featuring bullfighting in 1920s Spain? Pablo Berger’s film won 10 Goyas, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Maribel Verdu) and Best Original Screenplay, besting The Impossible for Spain’s top film of 2012. If you don’t catch the movie, at least watch the beautiful trailer. Blancanieves was Spain’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and won the Special Jury Prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

THE CALL (R) Until a final act that is so predictably out of character for Halle Berry’s heroine, The Call knows exactly what it is; a pulpy genre thriller; and excels at its sole task of generating as much entertainment as possible via suspense. After feeling responsible for the death of a teenage girl, veteran 911 operator Jordan Turner (Berry) is reluctant to take another emergency call. But when another teenager, Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin), is kidnapped by the same nondescript white guy, Jordan makes it her mission to save this victim. Considering the leads interact via telephone for the majority of the movie, it was smart to cast a beautiful, if strangely bewigged, Academy Award winner and a cute, all grown up former child nominee. Couple those two talented actresses with the claustrophobia and helplessness of the central locations, and the audience is treated to a pretty gripping first two acts; the last act is not awful, just an uncreative, poor relation to its predecessors. Director Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist, Transsiberian) gets as much tension as he can out of this script and should have his first bona fide hit to show for the effort. Answer this Call.

CLOUD ATLAS (R) For the ambitious Cloud Atlas, the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) have masterfully adapted David Mitchell’s award winning novel, intermingling six disparate stories, spanning from 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. The lush, imaginative film’s most serious flaw is its repertory, several of whom seem out-of-place (Oscar winners Hanks and Berry, most notably) in the film’s fantastical future bookend. (UGA Tate Theatre)

• THE CROODS (PG) Despite its underwhelming trailers, The Croods stands out as one of the best non-Pixar animated family films released in the last few years. A family of cavemen—dad Grug (v. Nicolas Cage), mom Ugga (v. Catherine Keener), teen daughter Eep (v. Emma Stone), dumb son Thunk (v. Clarke Duke), feral baby Sandy and grandma (v. Cloris Leachman)—are forced on a cross country road trip after their cave is destroyed by the impending “end of the world.” Fortunately, Eep meets Guy (v. Ryan Reynolds), whose developed brain filled with “ideas” might just help them all survive. Most cute family fun pics feel rehashed and overdone; The Croods does not. Its characters successfully, though unbelievably, combine the Flintstones with the Simpsons, and the voice acting, particularly by Cage, Stone and Reynolds sparkles. Cage was an inspired choice, for a role one would think is practically written for Kevin James. Most animated features, with their paint-by-numbers plot and rote, child-pleasing gags lose an adult’s attention within minutes of beginning. The Croods held my rapt attention for its entire entertaining run time and left me considering potential plots for its inevitable, disappointing sequel.

DJANGO UNCHAINED (R) Not many auteurs can take an academic cinematic exercise and turn it into one of the year’s most entertaining spectacles like Quentin Tarantino can in this Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay. Slave Django (Jamie Foxx) is freed by dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Christoph Waltz, the single greatest gift QT has given American movie audiences). Together the duo hunts bad guys and seeks Django’s wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who belongs to plantation owner Calvin Candie (Golden Globe nominee Leonardo DiCaprio). For a critically acclaimed award nominee, Django Unchained is an ultraviolent blast. Every bullet creates an unbelievable explosion of blood, and every actor gives a gleefully energetic performance. DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson have a particularly grand chemistry. Modern cinema’s biggest cinephile-cum-director again proves how great a genre film can be. QT continues to bring exploitation flicks from the grindhouse to the multiplex and the award shows. Few modern movies convey their creator’s delight as a QT film does; one knows he is making movies he wants to see, not movies to which he thinks audiences will flock. Sure, detractors will slam Django Unchained for its bloody violence and offensive language, but it’s most notable for a perfectly rare combination of art and entertainment.

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (PG-13) The G.I. Joe sequel, directed by Step Up 2 and 3’s Jon M. Chu, looks a lot better, judged by preview alone. After Cobra takes over the government and has most of the Joes killed, the remaining Real American Heroes, including Bruce Willis as the original Joe, must strike back at Cobra. New faces (Dwayne Johnson was a good hire) mix with old (Channing Tatum and Ray Park return). Let’s hope they get Cobra Commander and Destro right this time. (A check of IMDB credits disappointingly imply no Destro.)

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: LIVE (NR) Carmike Theaters beam in a live performance of the Dickens novel from the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (PG-13) How comforting it is to return to Middle-earth, especially with Peter Jackson (he replaced original director Guillermo del Toro, who retained a co-writing credit with Lord of the Rings Oscar winners Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens). Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman, the BBC “Office” star, a master of reactionary mugging) is asked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellan) to join a company of Dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Jackson and his writing cohort have expanded Tolkien’s single novel into three films by adding sequences from the series’ appendices, a decision that allows this first film to be paced a bit logily in getting the company on the road. Thanks to multiple childhood viewings of Rankin-Bass’ Hobbit cartoon, I’ve always preferred the prequel to the trilogy proper. While this first film lacks the epicness of Jackson’s previous series entries, it makes up for it with its comically entertaining dwarves and rousing action sequences. Bilbo’s first meeting with Gollum is so well-crafted and performed by WETA’s effects wizards and motion-capture genius Andy Serkis, who is still being shunned by awards groups lacking vision. This return journey to Middle-earth is an adventure worth taking. (UGA Tate Theatre)

THE HOST (PG-13) Andrew Niccol, who’s had a decent sci-fi filmmaking career (Gattaca and In Time were pretty good; let’s all just pretend S1m0ne never happened), adapts Twilight empress Stephenie Meyer’s other bestselling property. After an alien invasion decimates mankind by taking control of their bodies, one young girl, Melanie (Soirse Ronan, Atonement and Hanna), sets off with her parasitic soul, Wanderer, to find her remaining human loved ones. With Diane Kruger, Emiy Browning, William Hurt and Frances Fisher.

IDENTITY THIEF (R) Unfortunately, stars Melissa McCarthy (an Oscar nominee for Bridesmaids) and Jason Bateman are better than this more-annoying-than-funny odd couple road comedy. With two kids and another on the way, Sandy Patterson (Bateman) is struggling to make ends meet. Having his identity stolen by friendless Diana (McCarthy) only further aggravates his financial distress. In desperation, Sandy travels to Florida to bring his tormentor to justice. Inexplicably and unnecessarily on their heels are a couple of drug enforcers (Genesis Rodriguez and Tip “T.I.” Harris) and a mean ass bounty hunter (a pretty much wasted Robert Patrick). Strangely, the gags work best when Bateman’s straight man and McCarthy’s manic criminal bond rather than fight. Too bad the mean-spirited comic scenarios cooked up by screenwriter Craig Mazin (Scary Movies 3 and 4 and The Hangover: Parts II and III) lack originality. The punch lines lack the subtlety that brings out Bateman’s greatness. Director Seth Gordon (The King of Kong and Horrible Bosses) and his hilarious stars have done and will do comedy better.

INAPPROPRIATE COMEDY (R) This sketch comedy is directed by Vince Offer, the face of ShamWow. Still interested? Adrien Brody, Linsday Lohan and Rob Schneider star, and an emphasis on the "app" part of inappropriate means that Offer chooses the next sketches from icons on an iPad.

THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (PG-13) The Incredible Burt Wonderstone may not have the comedy magic of previous Steve Carell and Jim Carrey vehicles, but the silly movie is a lot funnier than one might expect. Aging Las Vegas stage magician Burt Wonderstone (Carell) was once a bullied youth, until he found magic, thanks to Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin), and friendship, via longtime partner, Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi). When Burt refuses to change their act in the face of a fast-rising street performer, Steve Gray (a too old Carrey), the pompous illusionist loses more than just his act. Until he gains everything back plus a hot new girlfriend (Olivia Wilde). Wonderstone overcomes a been there, seen that plot (Talladega Nights, anyone?) thanks to the likability of its characters. No one, not even Burt at his most arrogantly sexist, is that big a jerk. Carrey’s Gray comes close, but it’s still the former Ace Ventura. Were the characters less appealing or the gags raunchier (Wonderstone is refreshingly un-dirty), the over-familiar situations would be impossible to forgive. Ultimately, this amusing comedy’s decidedly old-fashioned views on stage magic and warming nostalgia for magicians like the Harry Blackstones (Rance Holloway more than passably resembles Senior) may be its best feature.

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (PG-13) Another reteaming of director Bryan Singer with his Public Access/Usual Suspects/Apt Pupil/Valkryie scripter, Academy Award winner Christopher McQuarrie, should be more exciting, intriguing and lasting than Jack the Giant Slayer. While far from a bad fantasy film, this retooled telling of the classic children’s stories, Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Beanstalk, does little to fire the imagination once the credits roll. We all know the story: young Jack (Marcus Hoult, whose romzom Warm Bodies showed loads more creativity) gets some magic beans, from which a giant beanstalk grows. At the top of the leafy, green ladder is a land full of giants who have a taste for human flesh. Of course, this new telling has to involve a love interest, headstrong Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), who Jack sets out to rescue. The mostly British cast is top-notch—Ian McShane as the king, Ewan McGregor as the king’s number one guardsman, Bill Nighy as the voice of the lead giant—and Stanley Tucci’s always a swell villain. Jack the Giant Slayer will kill an afternoon pleasantly enough (and better than last summer’s fairy re-tale Snow White and the Huntsman), but the special effects-acle lacks any lasting magic.

LIFE OF PI (PG) Having last thought of Yann Martel’s novel when I read it nearly 10 years ago, the ineffective trailers for Ang Lee’s adaptation failed to remind me of how wonderful and energetic Pi Patel’s life had been. I recalled a shipwreck, a lifeboat and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The imaginatively conceived and beautifully told work of art created by Brokeback Mountain Oscar winner Lee, who certainly deserved the award he received for Best Director, reminded me of the many, small joys that add up to make the life of Pi. Do not let the underwhelming previews deprive you of one of the year’s most moving, most artistic films of the year. The opening anecdote relating the origin of Pi’s name conjures up the modern fairy tale magic of past crowd-pleasers Amelie and Hugo. Newcomer Suraj Sharma, stranded for lengthy sequences with nothing but a tiger for a costar, and the ever-excellent Irrfan Khan (most recently seen in The Amazing Spider-Man) deliver delicate performances.

LINCOLN (PG-13) Historical biopics do not come much more perfect than Steven Spielberg’s take on our 16th president’s struggle to end slavery by way of the Thirteenth Amendment. Rather than tell Abraham Lincoln’s life story, Academy Award nominated screenwriter Tony Kushner chose the ideal, earth-shattering month upon which to focus. He populates Spielberg’s 19th-century hallways with living, breathing figures of American history like Thaddeus Stevens (Academy Award nominee Tommy Lee Jones), but the film will be remembered and lauded as another platform from which Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis can solidify his claim to the title of greatest living actor. He uncannily becomes Lincoln with such ease; he also humanizes a larger-than-life figure we tend to treat far too reverently. His authentic performance keep Spielberg’s best film since 1998’s Saving Private Ryan from falling into the hagiographical trap.

MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY (NR) 2008. The seventh annual African Diaspora Film Festival, sponsored by the Institute for African American Studies, presents a screening of Medicine for Melancholy. Two young African-Americans (Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins) are followed for 24 hours in San Francisco, the city with the smallest proportional black population of any other major U.S. city. The film will be introduced by award winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins; stick around afterward for light refreshments. Nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. (Ciné)

MENTAL (NR) Writer-director P.J. Hogan reunites with his Muriel, Toni Collette, almost 20 years after the duo broke onto the scene with Muriel’s Wedding. In Mental, Collette plays Shaz, a crazy nanny charged with the care of a politician’s (Anthony LaPaglia) five daughters after mommy takes a holiday to recover her mental equilibrium. This flick looks like a quirky, Australian version of Nanny McPhee, with Collette trotting out one of Tara Gregson’s many personalities. Thank goodness Liev Schreiber’s present.

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; the film also picked up the Independent Spirit Awards’ John Cassavetes Award. With David Oyelowo (the Red Tails star who also appeared in Lincoln and Jack Reacher). (UGA MLC Room 101)

• OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (R) Olympus Has Fallen feels like a relic from the bygone era of the 1980s, where audiences were satisfied by old-fashioned, bloody action movies wherein stone-faced heroes faced off against despicable bad guys without obfuscating their violent exploits with frenetic camerawork. Too bad director Antoine Fuqua’s latest flick isn’t the new Die Hard, as this Gerard Butler-saves-the-president actioner easily bests John McClane’s latest misfire. Disgraced Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler, who needs to stick to action movies) is the only person in America who can save the President (Aaron Eckhart) after North Korean terrorists take over the White House. The movie relies quite heavily on Butler’s manliness. Luckily, no one is more badass than the Scot best known as 300’s King Leonidas (when he’s not wooing Katherine Heigl or Jessica Biel). The supporting cast keeps up better than usual, which should not surprise considering the presence of Morgan Freeman (as the Speaker of the House), Melissa Leo, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell and Cole Hauser. With a franchise-worthy new hero and a well-choreographed, well-shot focus on physical conflict, Olympus Has Fallen kicks butt better than the muscular bulk of recent action movies.

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (PG) First and foremost, Sam Raimi’s The Wizard of Oz prequel is no Wizard; it’s not even Return to Oz, the very dark, very underrated 1985 sequel. Disney’s latest family blockbuster reveals the wizard’s own cyclonic entry to Oz. Carnival magician and con man Oscar Diggs (James Franco, whose performance is nothing if not inconsistent) meets three witches—Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams)—who believe him to be the great wizard whose appearance in Oz was prophesied. In the void left by the recently deceased king, Oscar must determine which witches are wicked and which are good. Raimi trots out his usual visual wizardry, and Oz is as successful as his first Spider-Man entry once it gets going. The middle act gets a bit logy as the good people of Oz prepare for battle via sewing montages. The climax is filled with whiz-band special effects, used effectively, and ties in well with the classic film being emulated. I just wish Raimi had chosen to make his Wicked Witch via makeup, like the original’s Margaret Hamilton, as opposed to CGI. Oz won’t make anyone forget the original, but it doesn’t shame its memory either.

PEABODY WINNERS FESTIVAL (NR) Two hours of samples from the 2013 Peabody Award winners, announced on Mar. 27. (UGA Russell Library)

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (R) Writer-director Derek Cianfrance reunites with his male Blue Valentine lead, Ryan Gosling, for this crime drama that evokes memories of Drive. A motorcycle stunt rider robs banks in the hopes of providing for the newborn son about whom his lover (Eva Mendes) didn’t tell him. Too bad he’s in the sights of a rookie cop (Bradley Cooper), who is battling a corrupt detective (of course, it’s Ray Liotta) in his department. Gosling and Cooper guarantee I’ll be seated in a theater as soon as possible.

QUARTET (PG-13) In his directorial debut, Dustin Hoffman fashions a delightful trifle filled with deliciously British performances from Maggie Smith (who was nominated for a Golden Globe), Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon and more. At Beecham House, a home for retired musicians, plans are afoot for a gala to celebrate Verdi’s birthday. Drama arrives in the form of aging diva, Jean Horton, who is also the ex-wife of another resident (Courtenay). Smith is her usual grand self (as her actual age, not older, for once!). It’s wonderful to see Courtenay (twice an Academy Award nominee for 1982’s The Dresser and 1965’s Doctor Zhivago) and Collins (herself an Oscar nominee for 1989’s Shirley Valentine) as featured players. Renowned scene stealer Connolly is up to his old tricks as aged horndog, Wilf. Hoffman unfussily directs Oscar winner Ronald Harwood’s play with an actor’s generosity for his actors. The characters and performances drive this entertaining little film, with a complimentary emphasis on little. Anyone who enjoyed their stay at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel should also enjoy the performances of Quartet.

THE ROOM (R) 2003. Tommy Wiseau returns once again as the unpredictable, inexplicable Johnny in this cult classic. Part of Bad Movie Night. (Ciné)

ROOM 237 (NR) Director Rodney Ascher’s “subjective documentary” looks at Stanley Kubrick’s well-known horror masterpiece, The Shining, from several new angles, exploring various theories about its hidden meanings. This doc sounds pretty fascinating for anyone who has ever spent any time dissecting Kubrick’s frightening work of cinematic art. An official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, Room 237 was part of the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes and won Best Documentary Director at Fantastic Fest.

SAFE HAVEN (PG-13) One thing I enjoy about reviewing movies is having a readymade excuse for watching sappy romances like Safe Haven. I’ve been curious as to what the big mystery is since the first trailer; plus, Julianne Hough is really attractive. Unfortunately, the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, set in another North Carolina paradise, is one solved mystery away from just being one couple’s two hour how we met story. Pretty, young Katie is on the run from a constantly drunk, really sweaty cop (“Revolution” star David Lyons). Lucky for her, a hot widower, Alex (Josh Duhamel), with two cute kids is ready to love again. Wondering how this romance is ultimately different from Sleeping with the Enemy? Then prepare for the laughable, Shyamalan-esque, climactic twist. Still, Safe Haven is competently, if unexcitingly, made by Academy Award nominee Lasse Hallstrom, but The Notebook need not worry. Its legacy as the gold standard for this sort of Sparks-ian cinematic page turner is under no threat.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (R) David O. Russell’s dram-rom-com and multiple Academy Award nominee does everything but disappoint. Pat (Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper) has just been released from a state mental hospital after a violent incident involving his estranged wife and another man. Maybe too soon after coming home, Pat meets Tiffany (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Jennifer Lawrence), who lost it after the death of her husband. Instead of exacerbating each other’s unhealthy flaws, the relationship between these two cracked souls heals both, much to the surprise of everyone, including Pat’s parents (dual Oscar nominees Robert De Niro and Animal Kingdom’s Jacki Weaver). Besides I Heart Huckabees (which deserves reevaluation) and Russell’s infamous tirade, The Fighter, the filmmaker has one of the strongest filmographies of any of the acclaimed auteurs first discovered in the 1990s. Silver Linings Playbook has an awkward edge—you keep waiting for Pat and Tiffany’s house of cards to collapse—that makes even the smallest successes so much sweeter. Russell’s fiery demeanor and beautiful writing certainly ignites his actors; Cooper and Lawrence give two of the year’s most generous and honest performances. Silver Linings Playbook should not be missed. (Ciné)

SNITCH (PG-13) The new actioner from The Rock, né Dwayne Johnson, is a lot more serious than you’d expect a movie from a former stuntman, director Ric Roman Waugh. (Knowing cowriter Justin Haythe wrote Revolutionary Road should mitigate some of the surprise at Snitch’s serious side.) Construction bigwig John Matthews (Johnson) will do anything to lessen his son Jason’s jail time after a drug arrest. Matthews convinces one of his ex-con employees, Daniel (Jon Bernthal, late of “The Walking Dead”), to introduce him to a drug dealer, Malik (Michael K. Williams, aka Omar Little aka Chalky White), in order to cut a deal with federal prosecutor Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), who could use a big bust to boost her congressional campaign. Refreshingly, Johnson spends most of the movie in desperate dad mode as opposed to real life action figure. Appearances be damned, Snitch is no '80s action rehash; the movie’s got too much gravitas for Ah-nuld, even in his prime. All these kind assessments get smashed by the ridiculous 18-wheeler chase with the drug cartel that concludes the picture. Oh, well. The first hour and a half’s better than expected.

• SPRING BREAKERS (R) Harmony Korine is a challenging filmmaker. His first script, Kids, became Larry Clarke’s latest cinematic controversy in 1995; then Korine started directing his own critically divisive films like Gummo and Julien Donkey-Boy. His newest film has met with, again, divided critical acclaim and bigger box office glory thanks to the headline grabbing casting of Disney teen queens Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens as half of this bikini-clad criminal quartet. Broke college students Faith (Gomez), Brit (Ashley Benson), Candy (Hudgens) and Cotty (the director’s wife Rachel Korine) rob a fast food joint to fund their Spring Break trip to Florida. In St. Pete, the revelers get arrested and involved with local rapper and drug dealer, Alien (James Franco in cornrows and grill), who has beef with a former buddy (Gucci Mane). Korine has described his film as hyperreality, a good word for this oddity that viciously whips from gritty realism to vivid fever dream. The bloody, neon climax, scored by Drive’s Cliff Martinez and Skrillex, calls to mind the violently surreal hit indie videogame, Hotline Miami. Whether or not Korine has anything important to say about this hedonistic rite of passage, what he does say is wickedly stylized and superiorly captivating.

• STOKER (R) Best known for Oldboy, Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook makes his English language debut with an eccentric Highsmith/Hitch-mocktail written by the star of “Prison Break,” Wentworth Miller. A strange teenager, India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska, Alice in Wonderland), has recently lost her father (Dermot Mulroney) in a car accident. The day of the funeral, her prodigal uncle, Charlie (Matthew Goode, Watchmen), appears to live with India and her grieving mother, Evie (Nicole Kidman, who is beginning to specialize in these china doll fragile mother figures). But Charlie brings with him secrets, and the more India learns, the more fascinated she becomes. Many of Park’s previous features have dealt with cultural taboos, and he does not shy away from the uncomfortably unconventional here. The film’s early subjectivity (is there more to Charlie or is India just imagining things?) neatly blends into the revelatory final act. The performances are showy and unnaturally appropriate, much like the film itself. Kudos to the exceptional sound design, which stood out like a scenery-chewing supporting character. Stoker is more accessible than many of Park’s Korean films but do not underestimate its oddness. (Ciné)

TYLER PERRY’S TEMPTATION (PG-13) A young, married woman (Jurnee Smollett-Bell from Eve’s Bayou and “Friday Night Lights”) is tempted by a handsome billionaire (Robbie Jones) in Tyler Perry’s latest, non-Madea movie. Not only is this movie being derided as the latest Tyler Perry flick, it also stars Kim Kardashian. Talk about a double whammy for Perry detractors; this flick is bound to confound Perry’s haters just as it pleases his target audience. I’m game for most any movie or TV show featuring Smollett-Bell. With Lance Gross and Vanessa Williams.

WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (NR) James McAvoy and Mark Strong star as cop/cat and robber/mouse in this stylish crime thriller from producer Ridley Scott and writer-director Eran Creevy (Shifty). Detective Max Lewinsky (McAvoy) thinks he’ll finally catch great white criminal, Jacob Sternwood (Strong, who is always so good), after he returns to London to save his injured son. Welcome to the Punch lacks any buzz and will probably do best on DVD or VOD. With David Morrissey (The Governor from “The Walking Dead”).

WRECK-IT RALPH (PG) 2012 was a good year for animation, including 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 is 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.

WRONG (NR) Drafthouse Films has been distributing some fascinating indie films recently (check out The ABCs of Death for some quirky horror anthology thrills), and Quentin Dupieux’s follow-up to Rubber is the latest. When Dolph Springer’s (Jack Plotnick) dog, Paul, goes missing, his search turns into something far more surreal. This flick looks like David Lynch meets Charlie Kaufman meets Michel Gondry. With William Fichtner, Alexis Dziena and Steve Little (so disgustingly funny on “Eastbound and Down”).