MOVIES - April 18, 2010

Capsule reviews are by Kenneth Turan (K.Tu.), Betsy Sharkey (B.S.) and other reviewers. Compiled by Anthony Miller.

Openings

TUESDAY

Cheech and Chong’s Hey Watch This A chronicle of the comedy duo’s reunion tour, “Cheech & Chong: Light Up America,” celebrating the first time the two have performed together in 25 years. (1:23) PG-13.

THURSDAY

Oceans A docudrama about the mysteries that lie beneath the very waters that sustain all of mankind, exploring the amazing creatures that live underwater and the harsh realities of their existence. Directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud. (1:42) G. Story on Page D11

FRIDAY

The Backup Plan After deciding to have a baby on her own, a women meets a man and falls in love with him during the hormonally charged nine months of pregnancy. With Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin, Eric Christian Olsen, Michaela Watkins, Melissa McCarthy and Anthony Anderson. Written by Kate Angelo. Directed by Alan Poul. (1:44) PG-13.

The City of Your Final Destination A young American academic attempts to persuade the reluctant heirs of a celebrated Uruguayan novelist to allow him to write an authorized biography of the recently deceased writer. With Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Omar Metwally, and Hiroyuki Sanada. Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Based on the novel by Peter Cameron. Directed by James Ivory. (1:54) NR. Story on Page D10

In My Sleep A man who struggles with parasomnia, a rare sleep disorder that makes him do things in his sleep that he cannot remember the next day, wakes up with blood on his hands and a knife at his side. That same morning, a close friend is found stabbed to death. With Philip Winchester, Lacey Chabert, Abigail Spencer, Tim Draxl, Kelly Overton, Michael Badalucco, Beth Grant and Tony Hale. Written and directed by Allen Wolf. (1:30) PG-13.

The Losers An elite U.S. Special Forces unit, presumed dead after being sent into the Bolivian jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, must remain undercover while tracking a ruthless man bent on embroiling the world in a new high-tech global war. With Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoë Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Peter Macdissi and Jason Patric. Written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt. Based upon characters in the comic book by Andy Diggle. Directed by Sylvain White. (1:38) PG-13.

No One Knows About Persian Cats Recently released from prison, two young musicians decide to form a band, searching the underworld of contemporary Tehran for other players. Forbidden by the authorities to play in Iran, they plan to escape from their clandestine existence, and dream of performing in Europe Directed by Bahman Ghobadi. (1:46) NR. Story on Page D6

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For The Record: An earlier version of this story misidentified Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi as appearing in the film “No One Knows About Persian Cats.” Saberi was the screenwriter for the film, but does not appear in it.

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Paper Man An inspirational comedic drama about an unlikely friendship between a failed middle-aged novelist who has never quite grown up and Abby, a 17-year-old girl whose role in a family tragedy years earlier has stolen her youth. Both rely on the imaginary friends to help guide them -- for Richard, it is the costumed superhero Captain Excellent; for Abby, it’s a morose fellow teenager. With Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Kieran Culkin and Lisa Kudrow. Written and directed by Michele and Kieran Mulroney.

Sita Sings the Blues A Hindu goddess, leading lady of India’s epic “The Ramayana” and dutiful wife, follows her husband, Rama, on a 14-year exile to a forest, only to be kidnapped by an evil king from Sri Lanka. Directed, written, produced, and animated by Nina Paley. (1:22) NR.

Critics’ Choices

The Art of the Steal An energetically entertaining if a bit one-sided documentary that shows how the Philadelphia establishment committed an act of cultural vandalism by engineering a move of the Barnes collection from its iconic home in suburban Merion, Pa. to a proposed new museum in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. It’s a move that illustrates as few other things how art and culture have become commodified into big money industries. (K.Tu., March 12) (1:41) NR.

Breaking Upwards Daryl Wein’s clever “Breaking Upwards” comes knocking at the door like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, draping reality in a fictional romantic comedy about a twentysomething NYC couple named Daryl and Zoe whose relationship is coming apart. The film stars Wein and girlfriend Zoe Lister-Jones (as Daryl and Zoe) and is based on their experience trying to build themselves a better break-up. They also wrote (with Peter Duchan), produced and, in Lister-Jones’ case, handled catering and wrote all the lyrics for the film’s original soundtrack by composer Kyle Forester. All of which works to give “Breaking Upwards” a DIY mumblecore vibe, including its very engaging conversational style, but thanks to Wein, there is less mumble, more core from the story and the cast. (B.S., April 9) (1:28) NR.

Cop Out There really is no good reason to recommend “Cop Out;” there are, however, about a dozen bad ones, starting with that it’s the first gross-out comedy to come along since “The Hangover” that is actually a comedy and not just gross, although make no mistake, gross it is -- this is a Kevin Smith film after all -- so don’t say you weren’t warned. But there is enough ridiculous fun in the Tracy Morgan- Bruce Willis pairing as two of Brooklyn’s “finest” to get many of you past the squirm-inducing stuff. After some rough sledding, Smith seems like he’s come home in “Cop Out,” with his loose, easy style helping to take the edge off the R rating. It’s in the execution of high-concepts that Smith sometimes gets lost, but that doesn’t happen here. There isn’t a high concept in sight. (B.S., Feb. 26) (1:50) R.

The Exploding Girl Writer-director Bradley Rust Gray and star Zoe Kazan are so committed to a minimalist aesthetic, and apply it with such craft and skill, that this very careful character study of a young woman’s quiet emotional crisis over spring break holds our interest almost without our knowing how it’s done. (K.Tu., April 2) (1:15) NR.

The Ghost Writer Made by a filmmaker suddenly returned to the height of his powers, this is a thriller wrapped around a roman á clef about contemporary politics wrapped around director Roman Polanski’s trademark cynicism. An effortless blending of personal preoccupations with audience preferences that recalls the classic work of Alfred Hitchcock. (K.Tu., Feb. 19) (1:35) PG-13.

Green Zone As created by director Paul Greengrass, screenwriter Brian Helgeland and star Matt Damon, this risk-taking endeavor takes the narrative skills and drive Greengrass honed to perfection on “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “The Bourne Supremacy” and marries them to reality-based political concerns. More specifically, this is a red-hot action thriller that deals quite candidly and unapologetically with the situation in Iraq. (K.Tu., March 12) (1:35) R.

Hot Tub Time Machine Who doesn’t have fun in a hot tub? Or hasn’t tested, at least once, the more-bodies-more-fun principle? For anyone who has, or hasn’t but wished they had, there is “Hot Tub Time Machine,” which starts with four -- Adam, Lou, Nick and Jacob -- or for the literal minded among you, John Cusack, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson as old friends, and Clark Duke as Adam’s nerdy nephew. But frankly, a literal mind is not something that should be brought anywhere near this raunchy party. So if everyone will just check theirs at the door, “Hot Tub Time Machine” will in turn deliver non-stop political incorrectness; completely illogical special effects; a story line that at times makes absolutely no sense; Crispin Glover in one running sight gag that gets better instead of old; a crush of very cool ‘80s references, Cusack chief among them; some gross-out moments that are genius, at least in the highly competitive world of R ratings. Oh and about a billion laughs. (B.S., March 26) (1:40) R.

How to Train Your Dragon has taken the age-old story of a teenage boy sorting through his fundamental life issues -- fit in, figure out self, get the girl, don’t disappoint Dad -- set it in ancient Viking times and still managed to give it a thoroughly modern spin. “Train Your Dragon,” which stars Jay Baruchel as Hiccup, the boy in the boots, is also a study in how nuance can actually complement the spectacle we’ve come to demand of 3-D animation. Like Hiccup’s growing pains, the film has its rough spots too but, mostly, like the mythical creatures at the heart of this tale, the movie soars. (B.S., March 26) (1:38) PG.

Mid-August Lunch A small, human-scaled, 75-minute film about the bonding nature of shared food and glasses of wine, this is also a tribute to the gentle skills of Italian filmmaker Gianni Di Gregorio, who wrote, directed and stars as a character named after himself. (K.Tu., April 9) (1:15) NR.

A Prophet Part prison film, part crime story, part intense personal drama, this masterful new film by French director Jacques Audiard is an answered prayer for those who believe that revitalizing classic forms with contemporary attitudes makes for the most compelling kind of cinema. (K.Tu., Feb. 26) In French, Arabic, and Corsican with English subtitles. (2:30) NR.

The Secret of Kells A ravishing, continually surprising example of largely hand-drawn animation in the heyday of computer-generated imagery, an inexpensive and sophisticated European production in an age of broad-stroke studio films, even a spirited defense of books and bookishness while Kindles walk the earth, this Oscar-nominated film fights the tide and succeeds beautifully. (K.Tu., April 2) (1:15) NR.

Shutter Island Director Martin Scorsese has created a divinely dark and devious brain tease in the best noir tradition with its smarter-than-you’d-think cops, their-tougher-than-you’d-imagine cases to crack, and enough nods to the classic genre for an all-night parlor game. It’s 1954 when Leonardo DiCaprio’s U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, played by Mark Ruffalo, are dispatched to an asylum for the criminally insane to investigate a dicey disappearance. But there are deeper mysteries here and it turns out that Scorsese has a lot more on his mind than a crazy inmate on the loose. (B.S., Feb. 19) (2:18) R.

Vincere One of the most surprising things about watching the wrenching “Vincere,” the story of Ida Dalser, Mussolini’s secret wife and his first-born son, Benito, is that when the relationship went sour and Ida just wouldn’t let it rest, that Il Duce, the sweet one, just didn’t have her killed. Though Ida’s life would become a torturous hell spent locked away in an insane asylum, the legacy left by her letters has made for an intense and intriguing, if at times uneven, film with Italian director Marco Bellocchio wringing every drop of emotion out of his actors and his audience before it is over. (B.S., March 26) (2:08) NR.

Waking Sleeping Beauty The decade between 1984 and 1994 saw animation at Disney go from an afterthought to a powerhouse. This tale of artistic reincarnation is a classic show business story, not lacking in temper tantrums and clashing egos, and this documentary tells it with a terrific inside-Hollywood sensibility plus an unblinking candor that lets the chips fall where they should. (K.Tu., March 26) (1:26) PG.

Also in Theaters

After.Life The afterlife in “After.Life” is deadly. Really. Deadly. It’s where the not-quite dead exist just before they cease to. According to “After.Life,” which stars Christina Ricci and Liam Neeson, it takes a human being about four days to stop being, depending on scheduling and how long the undertaker wants to chat. The afterlife is not, however, nearly as deadly or as ghastly as the movie itself, an undertaking so tortured that it digs a deeper grave with every passing scene. (B.S., April 9) (1:43) R.

The Black Water of Echo’s Pond While on vacation on a remote island in Maine, nine close friends discover a long-hidden, archaic board game in a stately Victorian home that unleashes an ancient evil that brings out the worst in each of them. With Robert Patrick, Danielle Harris and James Duval. Written by Gabriel Bologna, Sean Clark and Michael Berenson. Directed by Bologna. R.

The Bounty Hunter The new action caper starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler as dueling exes plays to everything that turned one of the “Friends” six-pack into a lip-gloss superstar. First to be exploited is Aniston’s perk power. When that fails, the second line of defense is a close-up of that really great hair, which doesn’t so much make for a movie as a running photo op. (B.S., March 19) (1:46) PG-13.

Brooklyn’s Finest It’s an old-style potboiler about desperate cops in dire straits that overcooks both its story and its stars, with Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle and Richard Gere the main ingredients left to stew. It’s also the latest compromised cop drama from director Antoine Fuqua, at best only echoing the electrifyingly unpredictable thrill of 2001’s “Training Day.” Instead, the complexity a drama like this demands gets lost amid the cliches, leaving “Brooklyn’s Finest” never able to live up to its name. (B.S., March 5) (2:20) R.

The Cartel A documentary examining the forces behind the massive failures of the public school system in New Jersey. Directed by Bob Bowdon. (1:29) NR.

Chloe Envisioned as a psychosexual thriller about a woman scorned, director Atom Egoyan’s latest puzzle is just puzzling, little more than a messy affair with mood lighting, sexy lingerie, heavy breathing and swelling, um, music. Everyone here is dripping with money, lust and anxiety, all to bad effect. Julianne Moore is Catherine a successful Ob-Gyn who suspects husband David (Liam Neeson), of infidelity and hires a high-end hooker ( Amanda Seyfried) to trap him in the act. Yet when things begin to go bad in ways that should twist the characters, and the rest of us, up into terrified knots, this master of tension and unease lets the moments go slack. (B.S., March 26) (1:36) R.

City Island A family’s bizarre and layered lies to one another come unraveled. With Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait, Alan Arkin and Emily Mortimer. Written and directed by Raymond De Felitta. (1:43) PG-13.

Clash of the Titans 3D This remake may be the first film to be made worse by being in 3-D, which makes the action harder to follow rather than thrilling. And the dialogue is so plodding that a half-way decent line like, “You have insulted powers beyond your comprehension” sounds like something out of Noel Coward. (K.Tu., April 2) (1:50) PG-13.

Dancing Across Borders A documentary chronicling the story of Sokvannara “Sy” Sar, who was discovered by Anne Bass on a trip to Angkor Wat, Cambodia, in 2000 and brought to America to audition for the prestigious School of the American Ballet. Directed by Bass. (1:28) NR.

Date Night Because it stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey, funny is a given here, but the story of a date night in Manhattan gone horribly wrong will likely leave you hungry for more. (K.Tu., April 9) (1:28) PG-13.

Dear John A young soldier home on leave falls in love with an idealistic college student during her spring vacation and over the next few years they meet only sporadically and correspond through love letters. With Channing Tatum,Amanda Seyfried, Henry Thomas,Scott Porter and Richard Jenkins. Screenplay by Jamie Linden, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. Directed by Lasse Hallström. (1:48) PG-13.

Death at a Funeral A funeral ceremony turns into a debacle of exposed family secrets and misplaced bodies. With Zoe Saldana, Luke Wilson, James Marsden and Columbus Short. Directed by Neil LaBute. (1:30) R.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid The adventures of wise-cracking middle school student Greg Heffley, who must somehow survive the scariest time of anyone’s life: middle school. Based on the best-selling illustrated novel by Jeff Kinney. With Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Steve Zahn, Rachael Harris and Devon Bostick. Directed by Thor Freudenthal. (1:31) PG.

Don McKay Twenty-five years after abandoning his hometown, Don McKay gets a letter from his ex-girlfriend Sonny to tell him she is dying and wants him to come see her. When Don returns home, Sonny doesn’t seem quite as he remembers her and everything seems a little bit off. With Thomas Haden Church, Elisabeth Shue and Melissa Leo. Written and directed by Jake Goldberger. (1:27) R.

Dream Boy Two teen boys fall in love and must hide their feelings from the rural backwoods community. With Stephan Bender, Max Roeg, Thomas Jay Ryan, Diana Scarwid and Rickie Lee Jones. Based on the novel by Jim Grimsley. Written and directed by James Bolton. (1:29) NR.

The Eclipse A widower still reeling from the death of his wife is plagued by terrifying apparitions and finds himself drawn to an empathetic author of supernatural fiction. With Ciar?n Hinds, Iben Hjejle, Aidan Quinn and Hannah Lynch. Screenplay by Conor McPherson and Billy Roche, based on Roche’s “Tales from Rainwater Pond.” Directed by McPherson. (1:28) NR.

Exit Through the Gift Shop A French filmmaker trails a graffiti artist in a meditation on the nature of street art in Los Angeles. Directed by Bansky. (1:26) NR.

Five Easy Pieces A 1970 character study of a former concert pianist working in an oil field who takes his waitress girlfriend home to his wealthy family. With Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Suysan Anspach, Fannie Flagg and Sally Struthers. Directed by Bob Rafelson. (1:36) R.

The Greatest When a couple lose their teenage son, their fractured family is pushed to the edge but the appearance of a young woman helps everyone start to put the pieces back together. With Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Aaron Johnson, Carey Mulligan, Michael Shannon, Johnny Simmons and Zoe Kravitz. Written and directed by Shana Feste. (1:39) R.

Greenberg Noah Baumbach’s favorite terrain is deconstructing life’s emotional ups and downs with characters so narcissistic and self-delusional they make everyone on-screen and off as uncomfortable as possible. With “Greenberg,” the writer-director who came to prominence with 2005’s “The Squid and the Whale,” has reached new highs or new lows, depending on your point of view. Baumbach’s latest stars Ben Stiller as 40-year-old Roger Greenberg, whose failed life is envisioned as a self-inflicted wound caused by a bad decision Roger made years ago. There is irony scattered all around him, but any comic relief it affords comes with such an undertow of repressed emotions and displaced anger that really it all starts to feel more depressing than dramatic. (B.S., March 19) (1:47) R.

Handsome Harry Granting a dying wish for one of a friend, a man embarks on a road trip to reunite with a group of friends from his Navy days and attempt to make amends for a violent confrontation over sexual identity which rocked their relationship. With Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Campbell Scott, Aidan Quinn and John Savage. Directed by Bette Gordon. (1:34) NR.

The Harimaya Bridge Daniel Holder’s father was killed fighting the Japanese in the Second World War so when Daniel’s beloved artist son Mickey takes a job in Japan teaching English, it creates a rift between them and leads to unexpected discoveries for Daniel. With Ben Guillory, Saki Takaoka and Misa Shimizu. Directed by Aaron Woolfolk. (2 hours) NR.

Hubble 3D In this documentary, moviegoers journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings and accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt the most difficult and important tasks in NASA’s history. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. Written and directed by Toni Myers. In IMAX. (:45) G.

The Joneses Employees of a stealth marketing organization pose as a seemingly perfect family who move into an upscale gated community along with all the newest goods hoping to make everyone else want what they’ve got. With Demi Moore and David Duchovny, Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth, Gary Cole and Glenne Headly. (1:33) R.

Kick-Ass A comic-book fanboy decides to become a real-life superhero with no real superpowers. With Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mark Strong, and Nicolas Cage. Screenplay by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, based on the comic book by Mark Millar and John S. Romita, Jr. Directed by Vaughn. (1:57) R.

The Last Song A reluctant teenager begrudgingly spends the summer with her estranged father and they bond over a love for music. With Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, Bobby Coleman, Hallock Beals, Nick Lashaway, Carly Chaikin, Nick Searcy, Kate Vernon, Kelly Preston and Greg Kinnear. Screenplay by Nicholas Sparks and Jeff Van Wie, based on Sparks’ book. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson. (1:47) PG.

Letters to God Inspired by a true story, a young boy fighting cancer finds strength and hope through writing letters to God and, in doing so, changes the lives of those around him. With Jeffrey S. Johnson, Robyn Lively, Tanner Maguire and Michael Bolten. Screenplay by Patrick Doughtie. Directed by David Nixon and Doughtie. (1:50) PG.

Mother When a mama’s boy is convicted of a young girl’s murder, his mother sets out to find the girl’s killer and prove her son’s innocence. With Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin. Written by Park Eun-kyo and Bong Joon-ho. Directed by Joon-ho. In Korean with English subtitles. (2:08) NR.

My Name Is Khan Karan Johar’s sweeping epic in the melodramatic Bollywood manner emerges as a potent, engaging and timely entertainment. Shahrukh Khan stars as Rizwan Khan, whose Asperger’s syndrome goes undiagnosed until the death of his loving mother sends him off to San Francisco to live with his younger brother. The film evolves from the story of a man with Asperger’s learning to live a successful, happy life to that of a man who embarks, in the wake of tragedy and violence, on an odyssey to declare to President Obama, “I am a Muslim and I am not a terrorist.” Khan and co-star Kajol, major Bollywood stars, are highly appealing and equal to the demand of their emotion-charged roles. (Kevin Thomas, Feb. 13) (2:25) NR.

Our Family Wedding Instead of invitations, they should be sending out apologies for “Our Family Wedding,” a cake-and-kisses comedy that has disaster written all over it. The film stars America Ferrera of “Ugly Betty,” and Lance Gross, a resident of Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne,” as the secretly betrothed Lucia and Marcus. Race as much as romance and a wedding on the fly is at the heart of the matter. But the filmmakers waste a chance to take a smart cut at the cultural clashes that are sure to follow. (B.S., March 12) (1:30) PG-13.

The Perfect Game Living amid the gritty poverty of 1957 Monterrey, Mexico, a ragtag group of boys from the wrong side of the tracks discovers the joy of sandlot baseball under the guidance of an aspiring Major League coach thwarted by discrimination. With Clifton Collins Jr, Cheech Marin, Jake T. Austin and Louis Gosset Jr. Written by W. William Winokur. Directed by William Dear. (1:58) PG.

Phyllis and Harold In a frank journey through a disastrous 59-year marriage, a filmmaker draws on a lifetime of her family’s home movies and interviews made over 12 years, mixing reportage, cinema verité and animation to uncover family secrets and tell a story that could not be shown publicly as long as her father was alive. Directed By Cindy Kleine. (1:25) NR.

Prodigal Sons Returning to her hometown in Montana for the first time since her sex change, a transgendered filmmaker sets out to document her reunion at the high school where she had formerly been a star quarterback and hopes to make peace with her classmate and long-estranged, brain-damaged adopted brother, Marc. Things do not go as planned. Directed by Kimberly Reed (1:26) NR.

Remember Me There’s only one thing that loves Robert Pattinson more than his legions of hysterical teenage fans and that’s the camera. Which helps but doesn’t quite save the earnest new romantic drama “Remember Me,” whose filmmakers hang everything on those chiseled cheeks and moody eyes. The “Twilight” star has definitely figured out how to look the part, wearing “brooding” like a James Dean leather jacket, what he hasn’t yet found is a way past those soulful eyes into the soul itself. (B.S., March 12) (1:42) PG-13.

Repo Men Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, a heart transplant patient struggling to make payments on his recent purchase goes on the run before his ticker is repossessed. With Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and Liev Schriber. Written by Eric Garcia and Garrett Lerner, based on Garcia’s novel. Directed by Miguel Sapochnik. (1:41) R.

The Runaways The problem with “The Runaways,” a street-level snapshot of the creation of the groundbreaking ‘70s all-girl rock band, is that they went with the wrong girl. Instead of training the lens on The Runaways’ artistic rebel who hung around and became a legend, rocker Joan Jett, played with serious punk grrrl power by Kristen Stewart, the movie focuses on the one who actually ran away, lead singer Cherie Currie, a kohl-eyed and sullen Dakota Fanning. And as so often happens in music-based biopics, too much hangs on a song. (B.S., March 19) (1:45) R.

The Secret in Their Eyes A former criminal court employee decides to write a novel based on the case of rape and murder of a beautiful young woman. Written and directed by Juan José Campanella. In Spanish with English subtitles. (2:36) R.

See What I’m Saying This documentary follows the journeys of four deaf entertainers through a single year as their stories intertwine and culminate in some of the largest events of their lives. With C.J. Jones, Robert DeMayo, T.L. Forsberg and Bob Hiltermann. Directed by Hilari Scarl. (1:31) PG-13.

She’s Out of My League There is one particular question that has long bothered and befuddled some of our greatest minds -- Freudians, Jungians, Judd Apatowians, Seth Rogenians and other noted R-rated auteurs alike: Can an attractive female fall in love with, and I use the scientific term here, a schlub? So props to “She’s Out of My League,” which stars Jay Baruchel, for wading into the fraught and frothy surf of the “I’m not worthy” genre of films. And more props for doing so with a disarming sentimentality and a certain decency along with the requisite raunch and repressed rage. (B.S., March 12) (1:45) R.

Sherlock Holmes Briskly directed by Guy Ritchie and starring an expert Robert Downey, Jr., this 21st-century look at the great Victorian detective has been tripped up by a series of misadventures that leave us wishing for the film that might have been. (K.Tu., Dec. 25) (2:09) PG-13.

The Spy Next Door On the ground or twirling in a stunt harness above it, Jackie Chan brings an air of determined good cheer to even the most metallic of clunkers “The Spy Next Door” operates on familial bonding by way of humiliating pranks, which in better circumstances might go by the name of slapstick. (Michael Phillips, Jan. 15) (1:32) PG.

Surviving Crooked Lake A coming-of-age story about four 14-year-old girls who encounter death and overcome extreme adversity on a summertime canoe trip to the North Woods, where everything that can go wrong does. With Alysha Aubin, Candice Mausner, Stephanie Richardson and Morgan McCann. Written and directed by Sascha Drews, Ezra Krybus and Matthew Miller. (1:27) PG-13.

Terribly Happy After a nervous breakdown, a Copenhagen police officer is transferred to a small provincial Jutland town to take on the mysteriously vacated marshal position and subsequently gets mixed up with a married femme fatale. With Jakob Cendergren, Kim Bodina and Lene Maria Christensen. Screenplay by Henrik Ruben Genz and Dunja Gry Jensen, based on a novel by Erling Jepsen. Directed by Genz. (1:40) NR.

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? The next chapter in the lives of eight college friends struggling with the challenges of marital life. With Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Sharon Leal, Malik Yoba, Richard T. Jones, Tasha Smith, Lamman Rucker, Michael J. White, Louis Gossett Jr., Cicely Tyson and Tyler Perry. Written and Directed by Tyler Perry. (2:01) PG-13.

West of Pluto A look at a day in the lives of twelve Quebec high schoolers captures the nature of their teenage years. Written and directed by Henry Bernadet and Myriam Verreault. In French with English subtitles. (1:35) NR.

When in Rome Certain scenes in “When in Rome” signify nothing less than the death of screen slapstick, but I’m hoping it’s one of those fake-out movie deaths where slapstick’s not really dead. In Rome for her sister’s wedding, Beth ( Kristen Bell) scoops out of a fountain a handful of coins tossed in by lovelorn tourists who become her enchanted stalkers. (Michael Phillips, Jan. 29) (1:31) PG-13.

When You’re Strange A documentary look at The Doors, the music and personalities of the entire band and the period they both reflected and influenced, a time of a rupture in the culture between the youth movement and the establishment. It’s also a great L.A. story, starting with band members meeting at UCLA film school, hanging out in Venice and Santa Monica, and becoming the house band at the Whisky A Go-Go on Sunset. Narrated by Johnny Depp. Written and directed by Tom DiCillo. (1:30) R.

Who Do You Love? An intimate look into the lives of Leonard and Phil Chess, the legendary founders of Chess Records. With Alessandro Nivola, Jon Abrahams, Robert Randolph, Keb’ Mo’, David Oyelowo, Chi McBride, Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke and Marika Dominczyk. Directed by Jerry Zaks. (1:31) NR.

The Wolfman Here’s the surprise of “The Wolfman,” starring Benicio Del Toro -- there isn’t one. No bite either, or humor, or camp. And the real killer . . . almost no spine-tingling dread, so I guess this is a horror story of a kind after all. Also starring, and squandering, the talents of Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving, the film is built around the ancient myth of the cursed creature -- part man, part wolf, part of the time. When the beast is fully revealed, he’s fearsome. Too bad the story’s not. (B.S., Feb. 12) (2:05) R.

Women Without Men The story chronicles the intertwining lives of four Iranian women during summer 1953, a cataclysmic moment in Iranian history when an American led, British backed coup d’?tat brought down the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and reinstalled the Shah to power. With Pegah Ferydoni and Arita Shahrzad. Directed by Shirin Neshat. (1:40) NR.

All movies are in general release unless noted. Also included: the film’s running time and ratings. MPAA categories: (G) for general audiences; (PG) parental guidance urged because of material possibly unsuitable for children; (PG-13) parents are strongly cautioned to give guidance for attendance of children younger than 13; (R) restricted, younger than 17 admitted only with parent or adult guardian; (NC-17) no one 17 and younger admitted.