Flickers . . . What’s playing at area theaters

NEW RELEASES

DEAR JOHN When a soldier named John Tyree meets an idealistic college student named Savannah Curtis, it’s the beginning of a true romance. Over the next seven tumultuous years, the lovers, separated by John’s increasingly dangerous deployment, stay in touch through their letters, meeting in person only rarely. However, their correspondence triggers fateful consequences that neither could foresee. (108 min.)

n Starring Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried and Henry Thomas.

n PG-13: Some sensuality and violence.

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE A low-ranking intelligence operative working in the office of the U.S. Ambassador in France takes on more than he bargained for when he partners with a wisecracking, fast-shooting, high-ranking U.S. agent who’s been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack. (95 min.)

n Starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Kasia Smutniak.

n R: Strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality.

CURRENT MOVIES

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL Alvin, Simon and Theodore take a break from pop-music stardom and return to school. Almost immediately, the tiny tunesmiths are given the giant task of saving their school’s music program by winning a battle of the band’s contest. Though the boys think winning the contest will be easy, romantic and musical sparks fly when they meet Brittany, Eleanor and Jeannette – also known as The Chipettes. (88 min.)

n Starring the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney.

n PG: Mild rude humor.

AVATAR A band of humans are pitted in a battle against a distant planet’s indigenous population, and a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. (150 min.)

n Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver.

n PG-13: Intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.

THE BLIND SIDE A homeless black teenager, Michael Oher, has drifted in and out of the school system for years. Then, Leigh Anne Tuohy and her husband, Sean, take him in, transforming Michael’s life and theirs. With help from his new-found family, tutors and coaches, he realizes his potential as a student and football player. (126 min.)

n Starring Sandra Bullock, Kathy Bates and Tim McGraw.

n PG-13: One scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references.

THE BOOK OF ELI In the not-too-distant future, across the wasteland of what once was America, a lone warrior must fight to bring civilization the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption and save the future of humanity. (118 min.)

n Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis.

n R: Some brutal violence and language.

DAYBREAKERS Ten years after a plague turned most of the world’s population into vampires, a critical blood shortage is causing panic and gruesome mutations within the undead community. Edward, a vampire hematologist, is trying to develop a blood substitute when he meets Lionel and Audrey, two fugitive humans who claim to have a possible cure for vampirism. Edward casts his lot in with Lionel and Audrey in the hope of perfecting the cure before it’s too late. (98 min.)

n Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Michael Dorman.

n R: Strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity.

EDGE OF DARKNESS As detective Thomas Craven is investigating his activist daughter’s murder, he uncovers a corporate cover-up, along with government collusion that brings the unwanted attention of an agent whose job is cleaning up evidence of a crime. (108 min.)

n Starring Mel Gibson, Danny Huston and Ray Winstone.

n R: Strong bloody violence and language.

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES John Crowley is a man on the corporate fast track with a beautiful wife and three children. Just as his career is taking off, his two youngest children are diagnosed with a fatal disease. John leaves his job and devotes himself to saving their lives. He joins forces with Dr. Robert Thornhill, a brilliant, but unconventional scientist. Together, the two men battle the medical and business establishments as they race against time to find a cure. (106 min.)

n Starring Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell.

n PG: Thematic material, language and a mild suggestive moment.

IT’S COMPLICATED Jane is the mother of three grown kids, owns a thriving Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and has – after a decade of divorce – an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake. But when Jane and Jake find themselves out of town for their son’s college graduation, things start to get complicated. An innocent meal together turns into the unimaginable – an affair. With Jake remarried to the much younger Agness, Jane is now, of all things, the other woman. Caught in the middle of their renewed romance is Adam, an architect hired to remodel Jane’s kitchen. Healing from a divorce of his own, Adam starts to fall for Jane, but soon realizes he’s become part of a love triangle. Should Jane and Jake move on with their lives, or is love truly lovelier the second time around? (120 min.)

n Starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

n R: Sexuality and some drug content.

LEAP YEAR When yet another anniversary passes by without a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Anna decides to take action. Aware of an Irish tradition that allows women to pop the question on Feb. 29, Anna plans to follow her lover to Dublin and ask him to marry her. Fate has other plans, however, and Anna winds up on the other side of the Emerald Isle with a handsome, but surly, Irishman named Declan – who may just lead Anna down the road to true love. (97 min.)

n Starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode and Scott Adams.

n PG: Sensuality and language.

LEGION An out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. When God loses faith in mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity’s only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner and the Archangel Michael. (100 min.)

n Starring Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid and Tyrese Gibson.

n R: Strong, bloody violence and language.

OLD DOGS Two best friends – one unlucky-in-love divorcee and the other a fun-loving bachelor – have their lives turned upside down when they’re unexpectedly charged with the care of 6-year-old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives. The not-so-kid-savvy bachelors stumble in their efforts to take care of the twins, leading to one debacle after another, and perhaps to a new-found understanding of what’s really important in life. (88 min.)

n Starring: John Travolta, Robin Williams and Kelly Preston.

n PG: Some mild rude humor.

SHERLOCK HOLMES In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson embark on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes battles as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country. (134 min.)

n Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams.

n PG-13: For intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.

THE SPY NEXT DOOR Bob Ho, an undercover operative for the CIA, decides to give up his career and marry his girlfriend, Gillian. However, before Bob can do that, he has one more mission to complete: gain the approval of Gillian’s children. Bob volunteers to baby-sit when Gillian is called away, but the operation hits a snag when one of the kids mistakenly downloads a top-secret formula, and a Russian terrorist takes aim at Bob’s prospective family. (92 min.)

n Starring Jackie Chan, George Lopez and Billy Ray Cyrus.

n PG: Sequences of action violence and some mild rude humor.

THE TOOTH FAIRY Tess is a 6-year-old girl who is very disappointed when Derek tells her that the tooth fairy isn’t real. Derek is left to try and save the tooth fairy kingdom. (102 min.)

n Starring Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd and Stephen Merchant.

n PG: Mild language, some rude humor and sports action.

UP IN THE AIR Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching 10 million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. (109 min.)

n Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

n R: Language and some sexual content.

WHEN IN ROME An ambitious young New Yorker disillusioned with romance takes a whirlwind trip to Rome, where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of those who threw them in: a sausage magnate, a street magician, an adoring painter and a self-admiring model. But when a charming reporter pursues her with equal zest, how will she know if his love is the real thing? (91 min.)

n Starring Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel and Will Arnett.

n PG-13: Some suggestive content.

YOUTH IN REVOLT As a teenage fan of Albert Camus and Jean-Luc Godard, Nick Twisp is most definitely out of his element when his mother and her boyfriend move the family to a trailer park. When a pretty neighbor named Sheeni plays records by French crooners, it’s love at first sight for frustrated virgin Nick. Upon learning that Sheeni is already dating someone, Nick launches a hilarious quest to find his way into Sheeni’s heart and bed. (90 min.)

n Starring Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday and Jean Smart.

n R: Sexual content, language and drug use.