01/08/10 Film clips

OPENING FRIDAY

"DAYBREAKERS" --A scientist tries to find a cure for a plague that has turned most of the human population into vampires, making the rest of us snack food. Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan and Sam Neill. Directed by Michael and Peter Spiereg. (R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity.)

"LEAP YEAR" -- A woman tired of waiting for her boyfriend to propose hatches a scheme to make sure they spend Feb. 29 in Ireland, where tradition allows women to propose. Starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, John Lithgow and Adam Scott. Directed by Anand Tucker. (PG for sensuality and language.)

"YOUTH IN REVOLT" -- A sensitive teen goes to extremes in pursuit of his dream girl in a quest to lose his virginity. Starring Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Long and Steve Buscemi. Directed by Miguel Arteta. (R for sexual content, language and drug use.)

HELD OVER

"2012" -- Director Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow") returns to destroy the planet again, this time depicting the confluence of disasters that some say will accompany the expiration date on the ancient Mayan calendar. Don't say you weren't warned. Starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson and Thandie Newton. (PG-13 for intense disaster sequences and some language.)

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" -- Jim Carrey performs multiple roles as Scrooge and the three Christmas ghosts in Robert Zemeckis' performance-capture version of the Dickens holiday classic. Also starring Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn and Colin Firth. (PG for scary sequences and images.)

"ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL" -- A battle of the bands pits Alvin, Simon and Theodore against a threesome of female chipmunks -- The Chipettes -- in Part 2 of their big-screen adventures. The voice cast includes Justin Long, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate, as well as live-in-the-flesh David Cross and Jason Lee. Directed by Betty Thomas. (PG for some mild rude humor.)

"AVATAR" -- In director James Cameron's high-tech, 3-D, sci-fi extravaganza, a wounded soldier inhabits a virtual new body on a distant planet where there's a war brewing between humans and the planet's blue-skinned aliens. Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Giovanni Ribisi. (PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.)

"THE BLIND SIDE" -- A homeless African-American teenager is taken in by a wealthy white couple as part of a college football recruitment program in this adaptation of Michael Lewis' nonfiction best-seller. Starring Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and Kathy Bates. Directed by John Lee Hancock. (PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references.)

"BROTHERS" -- A drama about two brothers (Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal), one a Marine presumed dead in Afghanistan, the other a black sheep who becomes man of the house for his brother's wife (Natalie Portman). Directed by Jim Sheridan. (PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language.)

"DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?" -- Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker team up for this fish-out-of-water comedy about a high-powered New York couple who witness a mob murder and are relocated to rural Wyoming. Also starring Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen. Directed by Marc Lawrence. (PG-13 for some sexual references and momentary violence.)

"INVICTUS" -- Director Clint Eastwood recounts the true story of how newly elected South African President Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) used the 1995 Rugby World Cup as a vehicle to unite his country. Matt Damon co-stars as the captain of South Africa's team. (PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language.)

"IT'S COMPLICATED" -- During his son's college graduation, Jane (Meryl Streep) hooks up with her ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin), who's married to a younger woman. As if being your ex's mistress isn't tough enough, Jane also finds herself drawn to Adam (Steve Martin), a smitten architect. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers. (R for some drug content and sexuality.)

"NINE" -- Famous film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother. Also starring Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson and Judi Dench. (PG for sexual content and smoking.)

"NINJA ASSASSIN" -- A renegade hit man teams with a European cop against an Asian assassin syndicate. Starring Rain, Naomie Harris and Rick Yune. Directed by James McTeigue. (R for strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language.)

"OLD DOGS" -- A pair of kid-averse bachelors (John Travolta and Robin Williams) become the unexpected caretakers of 6-year-old twins. Also starring Seth Green, Justin Long, Matt Dillon and the late Bernie Mac. Directed by Walt Becker. (PG for some mild rude humor.)

"PLANET 51" -- Dwayne Johnson voices an astronaut who visits a strange planet that lives in fear of alien invasion in this animated comedy. Also featuring the voices of Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, John Cleese and Gary Oldman. Directed by Jorge Blanco. (PG for mild sci-fi action and some suggestive humor.)

"PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE" -- An illiterate, overweight, pregnant Harlem teenager with a horrid home life enrolls in an alternative school hoping to change her life. Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz. Directed by Lee Daniels. (R for strong language, graphic violence and sexual abuse.)

"THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG" -- Disney's return to old-school hand-drawn animation is an updating of the fable set in 19th-century New Orleans. Featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose, John Goodman and Terrence Howard. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. (G.)

"THE ROAD" -- Cormac McCarthy's best-selling, Pulitzer-winning novel comes to the screen, with Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a man and his son trekking across a desolate land after a global catastrophe has destroyed most life on Earth. Also starring Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce and Robert Duvall. Directed by John Hillcoat. (R for some violence, disturbing images and language.)

"SHERLOCK HOLMES" -- Detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Jude Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England. Directed by Guy Ritchie. (PG-13 for violence and action, some startling images and a suggestive scene.)

"THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON" -- In part two of the wildly popular "Twilight" series, Edward and his family leave Forks, Wash., so Bella gets cozy with werewolf Jacob. Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Rachelle Lefevre, Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning. Directed by Chris Weitz. (PG-13 for some violence and action.)

"UP IN THE AIR" -- George Clooney is a commitment-phobic mileage-seeking corporate layoff specialist whose lifestyle is endangered in this Jason Reitman-directed comedy-drama. Also starring Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick and Jason Bateman. (R for language and some sexual content.)

-- Compiled by the Yakima Herald-Republic