Burlesque (PG-13)
A spunky Ali (Christina Aguilera) leaves rural Iowa to find fame and fortune and stops at The Burlesque Lounge in Hollywood, a down and out musical theater owned by Tess (Cher). Ali starts as a cocktail waitress, makes friends (Julianne Hough) and enemies (a super Kristen Bell), and works her way up to saving the day. The plot is tired, but lavish costumes and musical numbers pep it up. With Peter Gallagher, Eric Dane, Alan Cumming, Stanley Tucci.
Conviction (R)
The remarkable true saga of high school drop-out Betty Anne Waters’s (Hillary Swank) 18-year-long effort to exonerate her hard-luck brother Kenny’s (Sam Rockwell) murder conviction. A Massachusetts wife and mother with more than her own share of troubles, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college, and law school in her mission to gain Kenny’s freedom. With Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher, Juliette Lewis.
Fair Game (PG-13)
A true spy drama. Naomi Watts, brilliant as Valerie Plame, was outed as a CIA spy by the Bush/Cheney administration in retaliation for her husband’s, diplomat Joe Wilson’s (Sean Penn), outing of the government’s misrepresentation of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. The marriage suffers collateral damage.
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (PG-13)
The first of the two-part finale — very different, very dark, very hocus-pocus. It’s war, and Voldemort’s Death Eaters, determined to kill Harry, seize control of the Ministry of Magic where Harry, Ron, and Hermione, disguised as older wizards, are sneaking around. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.
Hereafter (PG-13)
Without drawing certainties or conclusions, Clint Eastwood directs this tender, questioning look at the possibility of an afterlife. It presents three plausible and ultimately connecting stories among Marie (Cecile De France), a French newscaster who survives a tsunami; twin British brothers (Frankie and George McLaren), and George Lonegan (Matt Damon) of San Francisco, a psychic who regards his gift as a curse, especially after meeting Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard).
Megamind (PG)
It’s a good guy-bad guy role reversal in this smart DreamWorks animation. The evil Megamind (Will Ferrell), always bested by the caped hero Metro Man (Brad Pitt), finds himself having to defend rather than destroy Metro City. With Tina Fey and Jonah Hill.
Secretariat (PG)
Predictable, but polished. Diane Lane is the winner in her portrayal of Penny Chenery, the poised, confident, subtly nuanced housewife who takes over her father’s (Scott Glenn) thoroughbred farm, and discovers a Triple Crown champion. With John Malkovich, Nelsan Ellis, Dylan Baker, Dylan Walsh, and a score of old standards.
Unstoppable (PG-13)
A wonderfully photographed thriller about two heroic railroad workers (Denzel Washington and Chris Pine) as they single-handedly fight both the railroad’s corrupt corporate owners and a high-speed runaway train loaded with toxic chemicals that’s about to destroy a town. (Loosely based on a 2001 incident in Ohio.) A tension-filled ride.
