Movie Capsules: Now showing

Jet Li (from left), Dolph Lundgren and Sylvester Stallone are among veteran action heroes starring in "The Expendables."

Eat Pray Love (PG-13) See review on Page 14.

Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.

The Expendables (R, 103 min.) Sylvester Stallone leads an all-star action ensemble that includes Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke as "Tool."

Forest Hill 8, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Jet Li (from left), Dolph Lundgren and Sylvester Stallone are among veteran action heroes starring in "The Expendables."

The Girl Who Played with Fire (R, 129 min.) See review.

Ridgeway Four.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (PG-13, 108 min.) Michael Cera must fend off attacks from his new girlfriend's superpowered ex-lovers in this comic-book adaptation from director Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead").

Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Wild Grass (PG, 104 min.) See review.

Ridgeway Four.

SPECIAL MOVIES

The Alps: Runs through Nov. 12. Tickets $8, $7.25 senior citizens, $6.25 children ages 3-12; children under 3 are free.

IMAX Theater at Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central. Call 320-6362 for show times, tickets and reservations.

Crimson, White & Indigo: Grateful Dead, 1989 (Not rated, 170 min.) Jerry Garcia (who died 15 years ago Aug. 9), Bob Weir and the gang perform "Box of Rain," "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" and other twirl-dance-worthy favorites in this Philadelphia concert documentary.

2 p.m. Sunday, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Tickets: $8, or $6 for museum member. Call 544-6200 or visit brooksmuseum.org.

Dolphins and Whales: Tribes of the Ocean: A new adventure from Jean-Michel Cousteau, narrated by Daryl Hannah. IMAX film runs through March 4, 2011. Tickets $8, $7.25 senior citizens, $6.25 children ages 3-12; children under 3 free.

IMAX Theater at Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central. Call 320-6362 for show times, tickets and reservations.

Elvis on Tour (G, 93 min.) A remastered screening of the intimate 1972 concert documentary, plus a new pre-recorded introduction by Priscilla Presley and never-before-seen bonus footage.

8 p.m. Saturday, the Orpheum. Tickets: $91 "VIP Package," or $37 for regular reserved seating. Visit orpheum-memphis.com.

Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West: IMAX film follows Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as they lead the Corps of Discovery on the first overland expedition into the newly expanded territory of the United States. Through Nov. 12. Tickets: $8, $7.25 senior citizens, $6.25 children ages 3-12; children under 3, free.

IMAX Theater at Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central. Call 320-6362 for show times, tickets and reservations.

Steel Magnolias (PG, 117 min.) The "Outflix Summer Movie Series" concludes with this 1989 Southern Louisiana heartbreak-and-humor hit with Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine.

7 p.m. Wednesday, Studio on the Square. Suggested donation: $10. Visit outflixfestival.org.

Top Gun (PG, 110 min.) Tom Cruise feels a need for speed in the 1986 fighter-pilot megahit.

7:15 p.m. Thursday, the Orpheum. Tickets: $7, or $6 for 12 and younger, cash only. Call 525-3000 or visit orpheum-memphis.com.

Wattstax (R, 98 min.) The "Reel to Real" series continues as musician and score composer Scott Bomar (producer of Cyndi Lauper's new album, Memphis Blues) introduces the classic 1973 concert documentary starring Isaac Hayes, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King and other Stax greats.

7 p.m. Thursday, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Admission: $8, or $6 for museum members. Call 544-6200 or visit brooksmuseum.org.

NOW SHOWING

The A-Team (PG-13, 118 min.) Liam Neeson, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.

Bartlett 10.

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (PG, 85 min.) The warring pet species put their ancient feud on hold to band together to battle a sinister cat spy with plans for world conquest.

Stage Cinema (in 3-D), Majestic, Collierville Towne 16 (in 3-D), DeSoto Cinema 16 (in 3-D), Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema (in 3-D), Paradiso (in 3-D, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema (in 3-D), CinePlanet 16 (in 3-D).

Charlie St. Cloud (PG-13, 99 min.) Zac Efron is a grieving young man who maintains a ghostly bond with his younger brother.

Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Date Night (PG-13, 88 min.) Tina Fey, Steve Carell.

Bartlett 10.

Despicable Me (PG, 95 min.) "When we got adopted by a bald guy, I thought this would be more like 'Annie,'" wise-cracks an adorable moppet in this clever but inconsequential computer-animated 3D tale about a follicle-challenged super-villain whose heart (if not his patented freeze-gun) is melted by the big eyes of the three little orphan girls who stare up at him and dream, "Daddy." Steve Carell voices the title dastard, the Euro-accented Gru, a sort of Left Bank Uncle Fester (the animation was produced in France) who operates, absurdly (like the Addams Family), in a mundane suburban environment. This is the first production from Illumination Entertainment, a new company founded by Chris Meledandri, whose features for 20th Century Fox Animation ("Ice Age," "Horton Hears a Who!") also seemed motivated more by the need to manufacture product for the marketplace than by Pixarian passion.

Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema (in 3-D), Majestic, Collierville Towne 16 (in 3-D), DeSoto Cinema 16 (in 3-D), Cordova Cinema (in 3-D), Paradiso (in 3-D), Palace Cinema, CinePlanet 16.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (PG, 93 min.) Zachary Gordon, Chloë Grace Moretz. .

Bartlett 10.

Dinner for Schmucks (PG-13, 114 min.) Paul Rudd recruits goofy Steve Carell as his guest for a "dinner for idiots" in which participants compete to discover the biggest buffoon.

Forest Hill 8, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.

Grown Ups (PG-13, 102 min.) High-school buds Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider reunite for a Fourth of July weekend.

Stage Cinema, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

I Am Love (R, 120 min.) A secret love affair leads to tragedy and perhaps liberation -- at an incredible cost -- in this proudly swooning melodrama from Italy's Luca Guadagnino. Frequently stunning and sometimes shameless (an al fresco coupling takes place amid closeups of Lepidopteran proboscises and insect-caressed stamens), the movie casts Tilda Swinton as the Russian wife of a wealthy Italian textile manufacturer, whose palatial Milanese villa is ground zero for Shakespearean family tension and haute bourgeoisie indulgence. When the wife becomes obsessed with a handsome young chef (Edoardo Gabbriellini) who is the best friend of her son (Flavio Parenti), desire and responsibility clash. Compiled from the work of modern classical composer John Adams, the music score adds an element of tension to even the most seemingly tranquil pictorial compositions; meanwhile, the luminous cinematography of Yorick Le Saux transforms each of these shots into something exquisite -- wine glasses shine like jewels, and a plate of prawns and ratatouille radiates a celestial glow.

Ridgeway Four.

Inception (PG-13, 148 min.) This metaphysical heist film is motivated by a challenge as great as that facing its dream-burgling heroes: The movie is writer-director Christopher Nolan's attempt to crack the Great Film vault -- to produce a distinctive, grandiose artistic masterpiece and commercial blockbuster that will demonstrate the director of "The Dark Knight" doesn't need superheroes to mesmerize the mass audience with a state-of-the-art fantasy. Brilliantly imagined and beautifully realized, on a technical level, this accidental companion piece to "Shutter Island" ultimately is burdened by its need to be the thinking person's action film; it works best during its witty, William Gibsonesque first half, in which "extractor" Leonardo DiCaprio -- cast, as in "Shutter," as a guilt-ridden widower with a crumbling concept of reality -- assembles a team of crackerjack conspirators who literally can plunder the contents of a sleeping subject's subconscious. As the team digs deeper into dreamland during a protracted, patience-trying finale, the pretentiousness that lurked beneath the cowl of "The Dark Knight" exposes its full face, and Nolan sacrifices revealing character action for grim musings about the nature and limits of perception. Still, many scenes are exhilarating, including a dream slugfest in which the brawlers move impossibly up the walls like Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in "Royal Wedding."

Forest Hill 8, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Studio on the Square, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Iron Man 2 (PG-13, 125 min.) Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke.

Bartlett 10.

Just Wright (PG, 101 min.) Queen Latifah, Common.

Bartlett 10, Majestic.

The Karate Kid (PG, 140 min.) Devotees of the 1984 film with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita have cried foul over this remake's digressions from its source (for one thing, the kids here are significantly younger); but taken on its own terms, this is an entertaining button-pusher that is certain to engross viewers near the age of the title character. Jaden Smith (son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith) stars as 12-year-old Dre, who moves with his single mom (the always welcome Taraji P. Henson) from Detroit to Beijing, where he is frustrated by chopsticks and beaten by bullies (including Wang Zhenwei, a charismatic mini-Jet Li) until getting lessons in kung-fu atop the Great Wall from the shabby local handyman (Jackie Chan, who is excellent in the first serious role of his extra-Hong Kong career). Director Harold Zwart's film benefits from Chan's presence and from the novelty of its locations, but Chinese audiences may object to the idea that a skinny U.S. kid can master in a few weeks the skills that the story's homegrown martial artists spent years acquiring.

Majestic, Hollywood 20 Cinema.

The Kids Are All Right (R, 104 min.) Just another all-American family tale: A teen brother (Josh Hutcherson) and sister (Mia Wasikowska) conceived through artificial insemination track down their sperm-donor father (Mark Ruffalo) without telling their parents, a longtime lesbian couple played by Annette Bening (as a workaholic semi-uptight lawyer) and Julianne Moore (as a hippy-dippy landscaper). The drama and comedy and conflict and reconciliation that result are fairly conventional, despite the unconventional context; what elevates the material are the marvelous performances and the agreeably loose vibe established by director/co-writer Lisa Cholodenko ("High Art"), who both celebrates and gently spoofs a California culture in which the use of locally sourced produce becomes a moral imperative and familiarity with Joni Mitchell's Blue is a signifier of sensitivity.

Studio on the Square, Cordova Cinema.

Killers (PG-13, 100 min.) Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher.

Bartlett 10, Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8.

Knight and Day (PG-13, 110 min.) Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz.

Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8.

The Last Airbender (PG, 103 min.) The title has the ring of prophecy: Although the movie frustrates viewers with a cliffhanger ending that includes the literal last-minute introduction of a new villain, it's hard to believe viewers of this wan, anime-inspired hand-me-down will demand a second "Airbender." Working from the Nickelodeon animated series, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan -- hoping to revive his floundering commercial and critical reputations -- has fashioned a sometimes cool-looking but confusing and deadly dull fantasy saga in which a messianic 12-year-old boy (Noah Ringer) leads freedom-loving "waterbenders" and "earthbenders" against the warmongering invaders of the Fire Nation. The wooden acting matches the platitudinous dialogue: "Nothing is ever truly lost," "It is in the heart that all wars are won," and so on. The 3D, added in postproduction, is lousy.

Majestic, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.

Marmaduke (PG, 88 min.) Owen Wilson, a Great Dane.

Bartlett 10.

The Other Guys (PG-13, 108 min.) Both homage and raspberry to the "Lethal Weapon"-style buddy-cop action-comedies of years past, the latest collaboration between star Will Ferrell and director/writer Adam McKay is (as usual) a stew of anything-for-a-laugh aggression, surreal plotting and non sequitur characterization. Ferrell plays a college pimp-turned-uptight police "forensics accountant" who is an embarrassment to his tough-guy partner, Marc Wahlberg; together, they stumble on a corrupt investment scheme masterminded by greedy capitalist Steve Coogan that gives the film an overt if unpersuasive political slant. A bonus: the closing credits song, "Pimps Don't Cry." A big minus: the ugly, ugly cinematography.

Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Predators (R, 107 min.) Mercenary Adrien Brody, special-ops soldier Alice Braga, death row inmate Walton Goggins and mystery man Topher Grace are among the "prey" transported to a jungle planet that functions as a game preserve for the title crab-faced aliens in this fourth and probably best followup to 1987's "Predator." Nimbly directed by Nimród Antal ("Armored"), this is something of a throwback to 1980s action-exploitation: The emphasis is on special makeup effects and brawny physicality rather than computer-generated imagery.

Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8, Majestic, Hollywood 20 Cinema.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PG-13, 116 min.) Sporting new muscles and a puzzling English accent, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as an acrobatic street orphan-turned-royal heir who battles an evil vizier (Ben Kingsley), with the help of a princess played by Gemma Arterton -- a woman so juicy her upper lip throws a shadow toward her nose. Director Mike Newell proved an adept handler of computer-generated spectacle with "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," but he allows the unreal effects of this Disney/Bruckheimer videogame adaptation to overwhelm story and actors. The prince's jumping-jack heroics borrow from the French discipline known as parkour, but the chaotic editing and frequent closeups sabotage the admirable work of the stunt men and disrupt any sense of genuine athleticism; meanwhile, the script's self-conscious parallels to the modern Middle East -- the plot concerns a misguided invasion inspired by false reports of weapons-of-less-than-mass- destruction -- prove meaningless. The title refers to a magical dagger that is able to turn back the clock, which would be a handy device for anyone who squanders two hours of life on this film.

Bartlett 10.

Ramona and Beezus (G, 104 min.) Joey King is third-grade scamp Ramona Quimby and Selena Gomez is her long-suffering older sister, Beezus, in the first screen adaptation of the classic children's novels by Beverly Cleary.

Stage Cinema, Collierville Towne 16, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.

Robin Hood (PG-13, 131 min.) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett.

Bartlett 10.

Salt (PG-13, 100 min.) A seasoned action movie Fury, statuesque Angelina Jolie — she of the celebrated cheekbones, Chester Gouldian jaw, pneumatic lips and canyonesque philtrum — is cast as Evelyn Salt, a CIA super-agent who appears to go rogue after being accused of being a Russian sleeper spy — a post-Soviet "Manchurian candidate." Like its star, this overandrenalized, implausible and entertaining spy thriller rarely pauses for breath — it's essentially one long chase sequence, as well as a throwback to the now oddly comforting conventions of the Cold War thriller, when the masterminds threatening to destroy the world weren't motivated by religion. An old-school trouper rather than a newfangled wink-and-nudger, journeyman director Philip Noyce ensures that the film keeps a straight face, even when Jolie's acrobatics suggest Lara Croft more than Langley, Virginia.

Forest Hill 8, Stage Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Raleigh Springs Cinema, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Sex and the City 2 (R, 146 min.) To the list of insults, real and imaginary, committed by the Great Satan against the Arab world, add this presumptuous and hypocritical sequel, in which Carrie Bradshaw and friends bring their name-brand materialism, exhibitionist licentiousness and Western silliness to opulent Abu Dhabi, where they manage to offend not only their hosts but sensitive viewers of all persuasions. Writer-director Michael Patrick King tries to posit the famous HBO alumni (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis) as sexual freedom fighters and exemplars of liberty at odds with a female-stifling Muslim culture, but they're walking environmental disasters whose conspicuous consumption enables the very oil-based culture that oppresses their Arab sisters. The sense of entitlement is grotesque: When too-much- woman in too-little-clothing Samantha Jones (Cattrall) is arrested by United Arab Emirates authorities for lewd public behavior involving a hookah, one may not agree with the law, but one can sympathize with the impulse. Even the fashions are hideous, from Samantha's Thunderdome-ready spiked shoulder pads to Carrie's tacky "J'Adore Dior" T-shirt, which seems more suitable for a cookout in Munford than cocktails in Manhattan.

Bartlett 10.

Shrek Forever After (PG, 93 min.) The voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy.

Bartlett 10.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (PG, 109 min) The latest built-to-please product from the Disney/Bruckheimer assembly line was nominally inspired by the famous Mickey Mouse episode in Disney's "Fantasia" (1940), but its true incentive is the blockbuster saga of Harry Potter, which finds its dumbed-down equivalent in this special-effects showcase about a New York physics-geek college student (Jay Baruchel) who is tutored by a master "777th-degree" sorcerer (Nicolas Cage) so he can fulfill his destiny as "the Prime Merlinian" and defeat the evil Horvath (Alfred Molina). The film is obvious, oblivious to logic and overblown, but fun in its mindless escapist fashion — and less insulting than director Jon Turtletaub's "American Treasure" films.

Stage Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.

Standing Ovation (PG, 108 min.) A comedy-drama about tweens competing in a music video contest.

Wolfchase Galleria Cinema 8.

Step Up 3D (PG-13, 107 min.) 3D is an expensive technology, yet what it does best is deliver cheap thrills -- and thrills don't come much cheaper than the pop-and-lock, hip-hop, foot-in-your-face acrobatics of this instant camp classic, in which eye-popping dance-floor awesomeness and jaw-dropping dramatic awfulness combine to produce the must-see dumbest movie of the year. Stylishly stubble-chinned Rick Malambri stars as Luke, a hunky videographer who leads a multiculti "pseudo-family" of "B-FABB (Born from a Boom Box)" hoofers to the "World Jam" dance contest, where they must battle the sinister House of Slytherin, er, House of Samurai. Adam G. Sevani — the apparent result of a genetic experiment in which Michael Cera and the "Wiz-era Michael Jackson were combined with bits of Arnold Horshack — co-stars as the incongruously named Moose, whose Fred Astaire-inspired single-take street dance represents director/ choreographer Jon Chu's wittiest contribution. With Sharni Vinson as Luke's love interest, an alleged terpischorean marvel whose most impressive dance move seems to be wearing a man's hat, and such other dancers (according to the end credits) as "Flipz," "Flearock," "Boogie Frantick" and Anthony "Invertebrate" Rodriguez.

Stage Cinema, Majestic (non-3D), Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16.

Toy Story 3 (G, 109 min.) Among many other wonderful things, the latest Pixar triumph is a very witty spoof of the classic Hollywood jailbreak drama; from now on, any list of the best prison movies will have to include this Disney release alongside "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" and "Cool Hand Luke." In director Lee Unkrich's marvel, however, there is no failure to communicate: The themes of loyalty, abandonment, the inevitability of age and, yes, love, come through loud and clear — even the stoniest viewers may have to clench their face like a fist to keep from bawling like a baby before the movie's over. (And I don't mean Big Baby, the movie's scary plastic infant with the lazy marble eye and the Crayola tattoos.) In this installment, the boy Andy (who has grown up parallel to the real-life kids enraptured by the first "Toy Story" in 1995) is bound for college, causing a crisis in the toy box: What will happen to Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the rest when Andy's gone? Viewers will think of the plight of pets and even of old folks and orphaned or unwanted children during these debates. If these notions are tough on adults, younger viewers may be more disturbed by a frenzied finale in which the toys face destruction on a junkyard conveyor belt: The "G" rating doesn't take into account the strong sense of deadly peril conveyed during the brilliantly animated action scenes.

Stage Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Paradiso, CinePlanet 16.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (PG-13, 124 min.) "Well, I am hotter than you." This supposed reference to body temperature, uttered by werehunk Jacob (Taylor Lautner) to sparkly teen vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson), is not just the funniest and most self-aware line in the third "Twilight" film but a nice distillation of the tension that now drives the series, as the tiresomely humorless Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) tries to stay true to her Byronic bloodsucking beau while resisting the literal animal magnetism of Forks, Washington's most frequently shirtless lycanthrope. Director David Slade ("30 Days of Night") is a more robust storyteller than his predecessors, but the clunky narrative mandates of author Stephanie Meyer's source novel inhibit any real invention.

Stage Cinema, Majestic, Collierville Towne 16, DeSoto Cinema 16, Cordova Cinema, Palace Cinema, Hollywood 20 Cinema, CinePlanet 16, Summer Quartet Drive-In.

Winter's Bone (R, 100 min.) Part murder mystery, part coming-of-age drama, director Debra Granik's shot-on-location adapation of Daniel Woodrell's novel transports moviegoers to a real place most of us haven't seen before: the darkling woods of the Missouri Ozarks, where clannish mountainfolk stew squirrels and cook methamphetamine with apparently equal gusto. Jennifer Lawrence stars as the story's resourceful amateur sleuth, 17-year-old Ree, whose search for her missing father is met with hostility and suspicion by her raw-boned, off-the-grid neighbors. Winner of the Grand Jury prize for drama at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, the movie to some extent mistakes authenticity — the documentary-like visual detail is astonishing — for profundity. Still, it shouldn't be missed. "Wish I was a little sparrow," folklorist Marideth Sisco warbles on the soundtrack, and the desperate Ree's desire for flight — for transformation — is palpable.

Ridgeway Four.

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