THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

2 STARS 

Rated PG • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Cinemark Tinseltown, Regal Avenues

Steven Spielberg’s CGI-animated adaptation of the popular Belgian comic strip speeds along with cutting-edge special effects yet is stalled by a dull, predictable story. Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) and his dog Snowy are on an action-packed adventure with Haddock (Andy Serkis) to reveal secrets about a mysterious ship.

AGNEEPATH

2 STARS 

Not Rated • AMC Regency

The Bollywood crime thriller, starring Hrithik Roshan and Sanjay Dutt, is about a villager who exacts revenge on a brutal drug lord who killed his father.

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIP-WRECKED

2 STARS 

Rated G • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues

The vacation plans of Dave Seville (Jason Lee) and those nutty little Chipmunks (voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney) are sunk when they (and the Chipettes!) are marooned on a deserted island. Co-starring Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate.

THE ARTIST

3 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Reviewed in this issue.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

2 STARS 

Rated G • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Disney’s 1991 animated Oscar-winner goes 3-D. When an evil enchantress turns an arrogant young prince (voiced by Robby Benson) into the Beast and his servants into furniture, only the love and understanding of innocent Belle (Paige O’Hara) can change him back. Gaston (Richard White), a ruthless hunter set on slaying the cursed prince, wants Belle for himself. Angela Lansbury and Jo Anne Worley lend their talents.

CONTRABAND

2 1/2 STARS 

Rated R • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale star in this entertaining albeit unoriginal action flick about ex-smuggler Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) called out of retirement after his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) burns drug dealer Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi). Chris realizes revenge is ultimately a family affair, so he calls in brother Sebastian (Ben Foster) and wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) to smuggle counterfeit greenbacks from Panama and settle the score once and for all.

A DANGEROUS METHOD

2 STARS 

Rated R • AMC Regency Square, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Regal Beach Blvd.

Visionary director David Cronenberg’s (“Naked Lunch,” “A History of Violence”) biopic stars Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Kiera Knightley. It chronicles the intense, often contentious relationship of early 20th-century pioneering psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Fassbender) as they treat patient (and future psychoanalyst) Sabina Spielrein.

THE DESCENDANTS

4 STARS 

Rated R • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd., San Marco Theater, Sun-Ray Cinema@5 Points

The latest from writer-director Alexander Payne (“About Schmidt,” “Sideways”) features Oscar-worthy performances from George Clooney and Shailene Woodley in the story of a reluctant patriarch and his quirky family who find trouble in paradise and real family values in Hawaii.

THE DEVIL INSIDE

1 STAR 

Rated R • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Cinemark Tinseltown, Hollywood River City

This lame exorcism flick is an exercise in futility as Isabella Rossi (Fernanda Andrade) goes to the hospital for the criminally insane with a crew of demon-wranglin’ Padres (Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth) to beat the devil out of her mother, Maria (Suzan “No Relation to Aleister” Crowley). “The Devil Inside” takes a played-out premise — demonic possession — of many horror films and, amazingly, plays it out even more.

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE

2 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

This surefire tearjerker drama from director Stephen Daldry follows Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), a nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile and pacifist, as he scours the streets of Manhattan looking for the elusive lock to a key left by his father Thomas (Tom Hanks), who died in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11. Based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” also stars Sandra Bullock, John Goodman and Max von Sydow.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

4 STARS 

Rated R • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Director David Fincher (“The Social Network,” “Fight Club”) adapts Stieg Larrson’s groundbreaking crime novel with killer results. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is tapped to solve a 40-year-old missing persons case by a wealthy industrialist (Christopher Plummer). He hires cyber sleuth Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) to unravel a family’s darkest secrets.

THE GREATEST MIRACLE

3 1/2 STARS 

Rated PG • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square

This animated, 3D film is about three people who have been attending Mass as just a routine in their daily lives. One day, they each experience a crisis and go to church, and are amazed by their fresh new approach to the Holy Sacrament.

THE GREY

2 STARS 

Rated R • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Liam Neeson stars in this nail-biting (or frostbiting?) thriller as John Ottway, an Alaskan oil refinery worker who survives a plane crash-landing in Alaska’s brutal wilderness. John and fellow survivors face harsh weather, hungry wolves and each other as they try to live through the icy ordeal. Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney and Dallas Roberts co-star in director Joe Carnahan’s thriller.

HAYWIRE

3 STARS 

Rated R • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Reviewed in this issue.

HUGO

4 STARS 

Rated PG • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Cinemark Tinseltown, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Based on Brian Selznick’s book about a young boy’s magical adventures in a 1930s Paris train station, “Hugo” is director Martin Scorsese’s first foray into fantasy filmmaking, blending fact and fiction into a captivating tale, with impressive technical wizardry, particularly in its use of 3-D. Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Lee and Sacha Baron Cohen co-star.

THE IRON LADY

3 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Meryl Streep stars in this critically acclaimed historical drama that chronicles the life of Margaret Thatcher and her journey from being the daughter of a humble grocer to the first woman to be elected prime minister of the United Kingdom, a position that she held for nearly a dozen years and earned her the nickname “The Iron Lady” for her hard-line, conservative policies toward trade unions, the Soviet Union and quality British hardcore punk rock. Jim Broadbent costars in the engaging, Reagan-era biopic.

JOYFUL NOISE

2 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

God help us all! Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton star in this comedy as two members of a small-town church choir who are having a devil of a time trying to see past their differences and win a national competition.

MAN ON A LEDGE

2 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

The crime thriller’s ensemble cast includes Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris. When cop-turned-fugitive Nick Cassidy (Worthington) stages a fake suicide attempt on a Manhattan hotel’s top-floor ledge, police negotiator Lydia Spencer (Banks) realizes he’s just a pawn in a bigger caper. She may need to call for more backup.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — GHOST PROTOCOL

4 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd., World Golf IMAX Theater

The latest in the hit-or-miss series is an action smash. When special agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team (Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner) are wrongfully accused of an attack on Moscow, they‘re forced to go into hiding and chase down villain Hendricks (Mikael Nyqvist) intent on global destruction. A tight script, killer visuals and deft direction by Brad Bird make “Ghost Protocol” a mission to accept.

ONE FOR THE MONEY

2 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

When brassy Jersey girl Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) is hired as a recovery agent for a bail-bondsman, she puts her skills to the test to capture bail-jumper Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a former vice cop and murder suspect. He’s also her old high school boyfriend. John Leguizamo co-stars in this rom-com crime flick.

RED TAILS

2 1/2 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

The WWII-era drama, starring Terrence Howard, Anna Levine and Cuba Gooding Jr., chronicles the true story of 13 African-American cadets training to be fighter pilots, who became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS

2 1/2 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Director Guy Ritchie’s cinematic adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary tale has Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and trusty pal Dr. Watson (Jude Law) match wits with an equally astute opponent, Prof. Moriarty (Jared Harris). Kelly Reilly and Stephen Fry co-star in the fun-filled albeit predictable mystery-thriller.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

3 STARS 

Rated R • Epic Theatre St. Augustine

This big-screen adaptation of John le Carré’s classic Cold War-era espionage novel moves along on the strength of a bulletproof screenplay by Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor and tight direction from Tomas Alfredson. In 1970s Europe, secret agent George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is forced to smoke out a double agent from within the British Secret Service. An ensemble cast, including John Hurt, Toby Jones, David Dencik, Ciaran Hinds and Colin Firth, and an innovative narrative make this thriller worth spying on.

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING

2 STARS 

Rated R • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Hollywood River City, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

In the latest installment of the popular “fang banger” series, badass vampire warrior Selene (Kate Beckinsale) awakens after a decade of being held captive. She discovers most of her vampires have been destroyed; now she has to fight a genetically engineered Lycan (that’s “werewolf” to us simple, alt-weekly-readin’ folk!). Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy and Theo James co-star in this biting action flick.

WAR HORSE

4 STARS 

Rated PG-13 • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Carmike Amelia Island, Carmike Fleming Island, Cinemark Tinseltown, Epic Theatre St. Augustine, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

The latest epic from Steven Spielberg takes the lead in the Oscar race. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 book and the acclaimed stage adaptation of the same work, “War Horse” tells the story of battle-torn Europe during The Great War through the eyes of a horse named Joey and the characters he encounters. An ensemble cast, including David Thewlis, Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson and Tom Hiddleston, combined with deft cinematography by Janusz Kaminski, a strong script (Lee Hall, Richard Curtis) and Spielberg’s masterful vision make “War Horse” a cinematic thoroughbred.

WE BOUGHT A ZOO

2 STARS 

Rated PG • AMC Orange Park, AMC Regency Square, Regal Avenues, Regal Beach Blvd.

Based on a true story, this family film is about recent widower Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), who decides to “go country” and move his kids (Colin Ford and Maggie Elizabeth Jones) onto an 18-acre farm. The catch? The place is a literal zoo, crawling with critters cared for by zookeeper/hot babe Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson).

OTHER FILMS

WARHOL AT MOCA

UNF professor Nicholas de Villiers screens 13 of Andy Warhol’s classic silent black-and-white screen tests from 6-8 p.m. on Feb. 1 at Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, 333 N. Laura St., downtown. 366-6911.

POT BELLY’S CINEMA

“The Ides of March,” “Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene,” “J. Edgar,” “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,” “My Week With Marilyn” and “The Sitter” are? shown at Pot Belly’s, 36 Granada St., St. Augustine. 829-3101.

WGHoF IMAX THEATER

“Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol 2D” is screened along with “Legends of Flight 3D,” “Rescue 3D,” “The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest,” “Born To Be Wild 3D” and “Hubble 3D” at World Golf Hall of Fame Village, 1 World Golf Place, St. Augustine. 940-IMAX. worldgolfimax.com

NEW ON DVD & BLU-RAY

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3

The third offering in the popular series about one pesky, persistent demon is a prequel about how sisters Katie and Kristi first came into contact with an evil presence. The surveillance-style footage makes it even spookier. (Spoiler alert: Those two little girls are demon magnets!)

THE THING

A team of researchers, led by paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), is trapped in the Arctic with a murderous, shape-shifting alien in a remake of this classic sci-fi horror story. “The Thing” is entertaining film fare for fans of the previous flicks.

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

Shia LaBeouf returns in the starring role as a kid who has some really bad car trouble, in director Michael Bay’s latest addition to the cinematic traffic jam. It moves like a 20-car pile-up of special effects, bad acting and a slippery story.

ANONYMOUS

Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave and David Thewlis star in director Roland Emmerich’s 17th-century period-piece conspiracy and political thriller that proposes William Shakespeare’s plays were really written by the Earl of Oxford. No effin’ way, thou scoundrel!