MOVIES

Motion Picture Association of America ratings:

G – General audiences, all ages.

PG – Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 – Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children under 13.

R – Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or guardian.

NC-17 – No one under 17 admitted.

NR – Not rated.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

(B-) It doesn’t always come together, but visionary "Frieda" director Julie Taymor’s magical musical mystery tour through the ’60s boasts so many visual splendors (to say nothing of imaginative renderings of more than 30 Beatles tunes) you’re tempted to overlook the trite romance between a working-class Brit (Jim Sturgess) and a starry-eyed, all-American idealist (Evan Rachel Wood) somewhere in New York City. (131 min.) PG-13; sexual situations, drug use, nudity, profanity, brief violence, mature themes. (C.C.)

AMERICAN GANGSTER

(C+) The greatest gangster story ever told? Not by a long shot. This saga — about a Harlem heroin kingpin (Denzel Washington) and the scrappy Jersey cop (Russell Crowe) on his case — tries too hard to prove its classic credentials. It’s got two great stars, but only one great star part (Washington’s), throwing the movie off-balance. Still worth seeing, especially for the performances, but hardly the knockout it wants to be. (158 min.) R; violence, pervasive drug content and profanity, nudity, sexual situations. (C.C.)

AUGUST RUSH

(C-) Sugar rush would be more like it. Given up at birth, an 11-year-old musical prodigy (Freddie Highmore) survives on the New York streets and composes the siren call that will lure his musical parents (Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers) back together. This is the kind of saccharine fairy tale that makes "Cinderella" look like kitchen-sink realism. (114 min.) PG; mild violence and profanity, mature themes.

AWAKE

(D+) Don’t believe the title — this wannabe thriller is more likely to put you to sleep, as a wealthy young businessman (Hayden Christensen) undergoes the heart-transplant surgery of his (and your) worst nightmares. Jessica Alba is the woman of his dreams, Terrence Howard the man with the scalpel. And everyone, including the audience, gets what’s coming to them. (81 min.) R; profanity, intense disturbing situations, brief drug use.

BEE MOVIE

(B — what else?) Just out of college, bee student Barry B. Benson (voiced by Jerry Seinfeld, who also co-writes) rebels against a career in honey and ventures outside the hive, where he encounters a sympathetic florist (voiced by Renée Zellweger) — and decides to sue the human race for stealing honey. Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Alan Arkin, Oprah Winfrey and Kathy Bates also buzz in and out of this fast-flying cartoon, while Seinfeld bats a zinger for every stinger. (90 min.) PG; mild suggestive humor.

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD

(B+) Director Sidney Lumet ("Serpico," "Network," "Dog Day Afternoon"), still going strong at 83, scores again with this taut, inexorable thriller about cash-strapped brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke) who scheme to rob a jewelry store — owned by their elderly parents (Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris). Lumet never met a family feud he didn’t like; the result is a thriller of enormous power that craftily transforms family melodrama into high tragedy. (116 min.) R; strong graphic sexuality, nudity, violence, drug use, profanity. (C.C.)

BEOWULF

(C) Director Robert Zemeckis uses 21st-century motion-capture technology to revive this Old English epic — and reshape its leading players — as the stalwart title warrior (voiced by Ray Winstone) battles a fearsome monster (Crispin Glover), the monster’s shape-shifting siren of a mother (Angelina Jolie) — and a persistent dragon. The special effects are the real stars of (and the sole reason for) the show., resulting in a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing much — so you should see this in 3-D, where the effects really make an impact. (114 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of violence, sexual situations, nudity. (C.C.)

DAN IN REAL LIFE

(B-) It’s more like reel life than real life, but this romantic comedy provides genuine laughs, along with genuine heart, as a widowed advice columnist (gracefully goofy Steve Carell), on his way to his family’s annual reunion, meets a potential Ms. Right (sparkling Juliette Binoche), only to learn she’s the girlfriend of his playboy brother (Dane Cook). "Pieces of April" writer-director Peter Hedges proves he’s as much at home in the mainstream as he was on the indie fringe. (99 min.) PG-13; sexual references. (C.C.)

DEEP SEA 3-D

(B) Get up close and personal with ocean wildlife, unveiled in the reach-out-and-touch weirdness of Imax 3-D at the Luxor. This giant-screen documentary introduces exotic denizens of the deep so extravagantly extraterrestrial, nothing created by Hollywood’s special effects labs could possibly compete. (40 min.) G; all ages.

DINOSAURS 3-D: GIANTS OF PATAGONIA

(B+) Now at Luxor’s Imax theater, this excursion traces the evolution — and extinction — of giant prehistoric beasts that rip each other’s faces off in thrilling computer-generated segments showcasing species we didn’t see in "Jurassic Park." Paleontologist Rodolfo Coria proves a congenial tour guide, while Donald Sutherland’s droll narration emphasizes a quality all but extinct in large-format documentaries: humor. (40 min.) NR; very large, very loud dinosaurs.

ENCHANTED

(B) When an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) zaps storybook princess Giselle (the enchanting Amy Adams) to modern-day Manhattan to get her away from her princely stepson (James Marsden, delightfully dunderheaded), Giselle’s new surroundings — and a dreamy divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) — alter her happily-ever-after plans. This fractured, fun-for-the-whole-family fairy tale succumbs to a spell of computer-generated effects overkill at the end, but until then this tuneful Disney charmer salutes and spoofs the studio’s traditions with equal flair. (107 min.) PG; scary images, mild innuendo. (C.C.)

FRED CLAUS

(C+) America’s Meathead, Vince Vaughn, plays the ne’er-do-well older brother of jolly old St. Nick (Paul Giamatti), who lets Fred work off some debts by coming to the North Pole to help out. Mistake! Comes on rowdy, but ends up as more of the same sticky holiday candy. Not even the starry supporting cast (including Miranda Richardson, Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Baker, Ludacris and Oscar-winners Rachel Weisz and Kevin Spacey) can save this cinematic fruitcake. (116 min.) PG; mild profanity, rude humor.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

(B-) A plucky young heroine (Dakota Blue Richards) journeys to the icy ends pf a parallel world as the forces of light (representing scientific reason and free will) clash with the mighty, monolithic governing body known as the Magisterium. The first chapter of Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" trilogy plays like a cinematic mix tape featuring "The Wizard of Oz," the Harry Potter movies, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. (124 min.) PG-13; fantasy violence. (C.C.)

GONE BABY GONE

(B+) Ben Affleck directs his younger brother Casey to impressive effect in a gritty thriller about a private detective combing the mean streets of South Boston for a missing child. The set-up’s familiar, but the delivery’s anything but, thanks to terrific performances, including those from Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Amy Ryan and (especially) Ed Harris as a tormented cop. The moral conundrums their characters face may have you pondering their decisions for days. (114 min.) R; violence, profanity, drug use. (C.C.)

THE HEARTBREAK KID

(C-) Watching Ben Stiller squirm usually means major yuks. This time, the yuks turn to yuck as Stiller squirms in a strained, lame-brain comedy about a honeymooner who finds his Ms. Right — while he’s honeymooning with someone else. Unlike the scathingly satirical 1972 original, this remake settles for raunchy slapstick that’s remarkable only for its misogyny — and its lack of laughs. (116 min.) R; strong sexual situations, nudity, crude humor, profanity. (C.C.)

HITMAN

(C) Genetically engineered assassin (Timothy Olyphant) meets babe (Olga Kurylenko), falls for same in a video game adaptation that tracks Agent 47 as he dashes across Eastern Europe, killing targets for cash — with Interpol and the Russian military in hot pursuit. Director Xavier Gens, who created the appallingly violent French slasher flick "Frontier(s)," goes a bit softer on the violence here, but it’s still a cartoon that’s essentially an episode of "24." (100 min.) R; strong bloody violence, profanity, sexual situations, nudity.

I’M NOT THERE

(B+) "Inspired by the music and many lives of Bob Dylan," writer-director Todd Haynes explores not only his subject matter but American mythology, the all-American practice of reinventing yourself — and the even more all-American preference for mythology over truth. Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw embody Dylan’s many faces; like its inspiration, this movie is by turns impish, inventive, annoying, moving, maddening, teasing, tedious, clever and endlessly challenging. (135 min.) R; profanity, sexual situations, nudity. (C.C.)

INTO THE WILD

(A-) Some people march to a different drummer — including wannabe Thoreau Christopher McCandless (quietly powerful Emile Hirsch), who abandons law-school plans for an unsettling odyssey toward a fateful solitude in Alaska. Writer-director Sean Penn’s adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction best-seller makes for exhilarating, harrowing and thoroughly compelling moviegoing, with Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn and an Oscar-caliber Hal Holbrook as unforgettable characters McCandless meets on the road. (153 min.) R; profanity, nudity, brief violence. (C.C.)

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

(A) Magic time: Ryan Gosling is endearing as an emotionally wounded young man who shacks up with a human-sized doll and generates a whirlwind of activity around her. Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider and Patricia Clarkson shine in Craig Gillespie’s breakout comedy, which boasts a tone-perfect script by Nancy Oliver. (105 min.) PG-13; sex-related content.

LIONS FOR LAMBS

(C) Silver-screen icons Tom Cruise (as a rising-star Republican Senator), Meryl Streep (as a savvy Washington, D.C., reporter) and Robert Redford, who also directs (as a liberal political science professor) lead this parade of talking heads, a staged (and stagy) three-part critique of political action, and reaction, in the Age of Terror. There’s bound to be at least one character whose opinions you endorse; whether you care about any of them is another story. (92 min.) R; combat violence, profanity. (C.C.)

LIONS 3-D: ROAR OF THE KALAHARI

(B+) This award-winning National Geographic production, filmed in the wild by Tim Liversedge, goes 3-D, focusing on a lion king’s battle with a young challenger for control of his throne — and a valuable water hole in Botswana’s Kalahari desert. It’s not a new movie, but this remastered giant-screen version, now at the Luxor’s Imax theater, has been magically transformed: you’re not merely there, you’re a lion, an honorary member of the pride. (40 min.) NR; animal violence.

MARTIAN CHILD

(B-) A widowed science fiction writer (John Cusack) seems to have found the perfect orphan (Bobby Coleman) to adopt: a boy who insists he’s from Mars. Cusack (reunited with his "Max" director, Menno Meyjes) and Coleman make this whimsical trip worthwhile before it surges over the top into the Black Hole of Mush. (107 min.) PG; mature themes, mild profanity.

MICHAEL CLAYTON

(B+) One man’s corporate failure is another man’s moral triumph in this legal thriller about a world-weary fixer for an elite law film (a peak-form George Clooney) who’s had it with cleaning up behind-the-scenes messes. Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack anchor the ace supporting cast of a movie designed for those willing to pay attention as the manipulative characters plot their moves, score their points — and gauge the price they’ll eventually have to pay. (120 min.) R; profanity, including sexual dialogue. (C.C.)

THE MIST

(C) Giant, bloodthirsty creatures unleashed by a freak storm prey upon a Maine village, and people (played by, among others, Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones and a holy-rolling Marcia Gay Harden) react in unconstructive ways. There is a mind behind "Shawshank Redemption" writer-director Frank Darabont’s windy adaptation of yet another Stephen King novella, with yet another Chicken Little admonition built upon the cynical belief that when the sky really falls, we’ll reveal our true inner beast — and prey on one another. (127 min.) R; violence, terror and gore, profanity.

MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM

(B-) Dustin Hoffman plays the longtime owner (we’re talking centuries) of a magical toy shop who’s reaching the end of the line; Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman and Zach Mills are three disparate souls he taps as his heirs apparent. Screenwriter Zach Helm ("Stranger Than Fiction") makes his directorial debut with a family-friendly fantasy that lays on the color and whimsy with a trowel, but it’s a reasonably pleasant way to put kids into a frenzied holiday shopping spirit. (94 min.) G; all ages.

MYSTERY OF THE NILE

(B+) This Imax documentary, now playing at the Luxor, chronicles the first descent of the Blue Nile from source to sea, a 3,250-mile, 114-day odyssey that brings explorers face-to-face with rapids, crocodiles, bandits, malaria, sandstorms and the fierce desert sun. (47 min.) NR; all ages.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

(A) The Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan, get back to basics with an instant-classic adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the wild New West. The Coens’ best since 1996’s "Fargo," this finds unlikely but undeniable deadpan humor on the blood-soaked trail of a crime spree gone wrong, as a good ol’ boy (comeback kid Josh Brolin) finds a $2-million stash of cash at the site of a botched drug deal — and finds himself on the run from a spectral psycho killer (a stunning Javier Bardem). Tommy Lee Jones rounds out the superb starring trio as a old-school sheriff who feels mighty discombobulated living in a West where no code applies. (122 min.) R; strong graphic violence, profanity, nudity. (C.C.)

SAW IV

(D) Talk about taking an idea and torturing it to death: This horror sequel explores the origins of the demented Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), as FBI profilers help a veteran detective (Costas Mandylor) put the pieces of Jigsaw’s puzzle together. It’s somewhat better constructed than the second and third "Saw" sequels, though there’s nary a scare, except for a line of dialogue that should chill any horror fan to the bone: "The games have just begun." Say it ain’t so. (108 min.) R; grisly bloody violence and torture, profanity.

SEA MONSTERS: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE

(B+) Go under the sea — and back in time — with this Imax 3-D documentary from National Geographic, now at the Luxor, about the 82-million-year-old creatures that swam the world’s oceans — from the Tylosaurus (the T. rex of the deep) to the most dangerous sea monster of all, the mosasaur. If you want to see something that just screams "Wow!", this combination of modern-day science and modern-day special effects is better than a lifelong angler’s best fish story. (40 min.) NR; all ages.

STRENGTH AND HONOUR

(C+) An Irish-American fighter (a kinder, gentler Michael Madsen) vows to give up boxing after he accidentally kills his brother-in-law in the ring — until he tries to win $250,000 to pay for an operation to save his dying son, by battling a vicious opponent (Vinnie Jones) in a bare-knuckle bout. Written and directed by first-timer Mark Mahon, this movie follows so resolutely in the footsteps of so many other sporting movies that we’re way ahead of the story arc — but the colorful gypsy backdrop and Madsen’s performance help compensate for the formula melodrama. (104 min.) R; violence.

THIS CHRISTMAS

(B) When the Whitfield family convenes in Los Angeles for its first holiday reunion in four years, its members seem to bring more secrets with them than gifts. Writer-director Preston A. Whitmore II serves up an overstuffed but satisfying Yuletide comedy-drama with a fine cast that includes Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Regina King, Sharon Leal, Laz Alonzo, Mekhi Phifer and Chris Brown. (117 min.) PG-13; comic sexual content, violence.