Reel Picks: More on movies playing this week

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The Avengers (PG-13)

Featuring iconic Marvel super heroes. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of S.H.I.E.L.D. pulls together a team of super humans to save the Earth from Loki and his army: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). Breaking box office records left and right. Seems as though most everyone who has seen this film likes it.

Battleship (PG-13)

An action-adventure of epic scale that unfolds across the seas, in the skies, and over land as our planet fights for survival against an armada of unknown origins. Inspired by Hasbro’s classic naval combat game. If you like action movies this could be for you. Good fun, good action, break out the popcorn. Directed by Peter Berg. Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, and Rihanna.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (PG-13)

Seven elderly Britons, separately, decide to retire to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in Jaipur, India. They discovered the place on the Internet, but they find they were misled. It isn’t as grand or exotic as they expected. They deal with the situation in a wide range of ways, some of which are funny and all entertaining. It is a sweet story about the senior set that has received good reviews. Starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Maggie Smith.

Dark Shadows (PG-13)

Director Tim Burton gets it on again with Johnny Depp in this revival of the 1960s cult-classic soap opera, without the drama. It is a comedy-fantasy about an imprisoned vampire who is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection. Starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Eva Green.

The Dictator (R)

Sacha Baron Cohen, over the top as usual, plays a dictator who makes Muammar Gaddafi look like a good little boy — and sane. He ends up in New York as an unknown with his dictator’s ways still intact. Also stars Anna Faris and John C. Reilly.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (PG)

Hugh Grant speaks for the Pirate Captain who sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals, Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), for the pirate of the year award. Claymation combined with state of the art animation techniques, and a story line that can appeal to adults as well as children, make this a good family movie. It has been well received by critics and viewers alike.