OPENING TODAY

"ALICE IN WONDERLAND" (3-D and 2-D) -- A teenage Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to the magical land she visited as a child in director Tim Burton's seventh collaboration with Johnny Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter. Also starring Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Michael Sheen and Alan Rickman. (PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar.)

"BROOKLYN'S FINEST" -- Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after taking vastly different career paths. Starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes and Ellen Barkin. Directed by Antoine Fuqua. (R for bloody violence throughout, strong sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language.)

"ME AND ORSON WELLES" -- Richard Linklater directs this adaptation of Robert Kaplow's novel about the behind-the-stage shenanigans during a Mercury Theatre staging of "Julius Caesar" directed by a young Orson Welles in 1937. Starring Christian McKay, Ben Chaplin, Claire Danes and Zac Efron. (PG-13 for sexual references and smoking.)

HELD OVER

"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-skin 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.) OSCAR WATCH: Best picture, best director (James Cameron), visual effects, film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, art direction, cinematography, original score (James Horner).

"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.) OSCAR WATCH: Best picture, best actress (Sandra Bullock).

"THE BOOK OF ELI" -- Denzel Washington wanders a post-apocalyptic America with a sacred text that may hold the key to humanity's survival. Also starring Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Malcolm McDowell and Jennifer Beals. Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes. (R for some brutal violence and language.)

"COP OUT" -- Two New York City cops (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) are on the trail of a thief who has stolen a priceless baseball card in this buddy movie. Also starring Adam Brody, Kevin Pollak and Seann William Scott. Directed by Kevin Smith. (R for pervasive language including sexual references, violence and brief sexuality.)

"THE CRAZIES" -- A group of small-town Iowans try to survive when the local residents turn into snarling lunatics after the water supply is contaminated. It's a remake of George A. Romero's little-seen 1973 cult classic. Starring Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson and Danielle Panabaker. Directed by Breck Eisner. (R for bloody violence and language.)

"CRAZY HEART" -- A broken-down country singer becomes involved with a journalist and takes stock of his career and his life. Starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall. Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb. Written and directed by Scott Cooper. (R for brief sexuality and language.) OSCAR WATCH: Best actor (Jeff Bridges), best supporting actress (Maggie Gyllenhaal), original song ("The Weary Kind" by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett).

"DEAR JOHN" -- A soldier and a woman carry out a seven-year romance from a distance while he's on assignment. Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel. Starring Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins and Henry Thomas. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom. (PG-13 for some sensuality and violence.)

"EDGE OF DARKNESS" -- Mel Gibson stars as a Boston homicide detective whose daughter's murder takes him into a dark world of corporate and government conspiracy. Also starring Ray Winstone, Danny Huston and Bojana Novakovic. Directed by Martin Campbell. (R for strong, bloody violence and language.)

"FROM PARIS WITH LOVE" -- A trigger-happy spy and his inexperienced partner race to thwart a terrorist attack in Paris. Starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Kasia Smutniak. Directed by Pierre Morel. (R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality.)

"LEGION" -- After God decides to start over, the archangel Michael helps a group of mortals fend off the Apocalypse. Starring Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Charles S. Dutton, Tyrese Gibson and Lucas Black. Directed by Scott Stewart. (R for strong, bloody violence, and language.)

"PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF" -- A teen demigod who is the son of the sea god Poseidon is falsely suspected of stealing uncle Zeus' lighting bolt, sending him on a quest to find the true culprit. Based on the Rick Riordan fantasy books about the modern-day machinations of the Greek gods. Starring Logan Lerman, Rosario Dawson, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman and Catherine Keener. Directed by Chris Columbus. (PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language.)

"THE SECRETS OF JONATHAN SPERRY" -- In 1970, a 75-year-old man mentors three boys to follow the Lord in this Christian film from 2009. Starring Gavid MacLeod, Jansen Panettiere, Frankie Ryan Manriquez, Allen Isaacson and Robert Guillaume. Directed by Rich Christiano. (PG for mild thematic elements.)

"SHUTTER ISLAND" -- Director Martin Scorsese's adaptation of novelist Dennis Lehane's novel is a 1950s mystery that has two U.S. marshals (Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) searching for an escaped murderess from a creepy island insane asylum. Also starring Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow and Jackie Earle Haley. (R for disturbing violent content, language and some nudity.)

"THE SPY NEXT DOOR" -- Jackie Chan balances his day job as a spy with baby-sitting his girlfriend's three kids. Also starring Amber Valletta, Madeline Carroll and Will Shadley. Directed by Brian Levant. (PG for sequences of action violence and some mild rude humor.)

"THE TOOTH FAIRY" -- Dwayne Johnson plays a hockey player magically sentenced to serve a week as the mythical tooth fairy. Also starring Ashley Judd and Julie Andrews. Directed by Michael Lembeck. (PG for mild language, some rude humor and sports action.)

"VALENTINE'S DAY" -- Intertwining couples and singles in Los Angeles break up and make up based on the pressures and expectations of Valentine's Day. Starring Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts and Taylor Swift. Directed by Garry Marshall. (PG-13 for some sexual material and brief partial nudity.)

"WHEN IN ROME" -- Passions are magically aroused when a New Yorker steals some coins from a fountain during a visit to Rome and suddenly finds herself pursued by a chain of Romeos. Starring Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel and Danny DeVito. Directed by Mark Steven Johnson. (PG-13 for some suggestive content.)

"THE WOLFMAN" -- Benicio Del Toro is the hairy beast in this update of the horror classic, playing a black sheep son who returns to his ancestral home in England a changed man. Also starring Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving. Directed by Joe Johnston. (R for bloody horror violence and gore.)

-- Compiled by the Yakima Herald-Republic